Extremely-high-sensitivity low-power MEMS accelerometer and its applications

Abstract

Accelerometers are used for many applications from smartphones and game consoles to automobiles, robots and drones. In particular, MEMS-based accelerometers are promising for many future applications since they are suitable for mass production and easy to implement in a small device. However, conventional MEMS accelerometers suffer from various noise contributors and hence, it was not easy to attain high sensitivity and low power consumption simultaneously. Recently, we have successfully developed a MEMS accelerometer with both extremely high sensitivity (ultralow noise) and low power consumption. In this article, the operation principle of the accelerometer and several key techniques, as well as new application are explained.