Attenuation of the dielectric charging-induced drift in capacitive accelerometer by AC bias voltage

Abstract

The output of one typical capacitive microelectromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometer under square wave bias voltage is discussed. Output drift of the accelerometers should be suppressed to improve the device performance. Theoretical analysis indicates that square wave bias voltage can be applied instead of the DC bias voltage to mitigate the dielectric charging-induced output drift. Theoretical models of the sensing structure under square wave bias voltage indicate that both square wave and DC bias voltage can generate the same electrostatic force among the sensing structure. Therefore, the system equilibrium can be maintained with square wave bias voltage when the same input acceleration is applied. Configuration and the frequency of the square wave bias voltage are analyzed to maintain the system equilibrium and device function. Experimental results show that although the magnitude of the output voltage is slightly decreased, output drift can be significantly suppressed when the square wave voltage is applied.