Silicon Gyrocompass

MEMS Gyroscope for Precision Gyro-Compassing Azimuth Sensing

MEMS are an attractive option to consider when size, cost, and power consumption are the defining characteristics of sensor operation, though when resolution is the single critical parameter of the system, the inertial MEMS is not presently competitive to their large-scale counterparts. The fundamental question is: Is it possible to reach the level of the state-of-the-art performance gyroscopes and preserve all the benefits of miniaturization (reduction in size, cost, power consumption, speed of response, shock survivability, etc.)

Objective of this research is to understand the fundamental factors limiting in performance of Vibratory Gyroscopes. Our particular interest is to interpret the effect of scaling (reduction in size from the macro to micro dimensions) on performance. The practical aim of this study is to develop the critical knowledge and project this knowledge on concrete practical design solutions which could result in orders of magnitude increase in performance of micro-scale gyroscopes. The specific objective is to develop a feasible practical approach leading to MEMS gyroscopes with performance required for precision gyro-compassing applications.