This dissertation reports on the design and implementation of a high-frequency, tri-axial capacitive resonant gyroscopes integrated on a single chip. The components that construct tri-axial rotation sensing consist of a yaw, a pitch and a roll device. The yaw-rate gyroscope has a wide bandwidth and a large full-scale range, and operates at a mode-matched condition with DC polarization voltage of 10V without frequency tuning requirement. The large bandwidth of 3kHz and expected full-scale range over 30,000˚/sec make the device exhibit fast rate response for rapid motion sensing application. For the pitch-and-roll rate sensing, an in-plane drive-mode and two orthogonal out-of-plane sense-modes are employed. The rotation-rate sensing from lateral axes is performed by mode-matching the in-plane drive-mode with out-of-plane sense-modes to detect Coriolis-force induced deflection of the resonant mass. To compensate process variations and thickness deviations in the employed silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates, large electrostatic frequency tunings of both the drive and sense modes are realized. A revised high aspect ratio combined polysilicon and silicon (HARPSS) process is developed to resolve the Coriolis response that exists toward out-of-plane direction while drive-mode exists on in-plane, and tune individual frequencies with minimal interference to unintended modes. To conclude and overcome the performance limitation, design optimization of high-frequency tri-axial gyroscopes is suggested. Q-factor enhancement through reduction of thermoelastic damping (TED) and optimizations of physical dimensions are suggested for the yaw disk gyroscope. For the pitch-and-roll gyroscope, scaling property of physical dimension and its subsequent performance enhancement are analyzed.

Detta projekt syftar till att undersöka om det går att kurskorrigera en av Weda AB:s poolrengöringsrobotar med hjälp av ett MEMS-gyroskop. Den valda rengöringsroboten styrs idag av en PLC, och konceptet är att komplettera styrenheten med ett MEMS gyroskop som kan detektera kursavvikelser. Undersökandet av möjligheterna för implementeringen börjar med att samla information om MEMS gyroskopens funktion och i vilka tekniker de används idag. Vidare utförs beräkningar mot Wedas definition av rak kurs, det resulterade i för höga krav på känsligheten i gyroskopet. Trots det otillfredsställande resultatet beslutar Weda att projektet ska fortsätta undersöka gyroskopets möjligheter. En marknadsundersöknings med 9 tillverkningsföretag genomförs i syfte att se vad marknaden erbjuder för MEMS gyroskop idag. Sedan konsulteras distribueringsföretaget Avnet som bidrar med sina kunskaper, erfarenheter och rekommendationer för konceptet. Ett av de framstående gyroskopen i undersökningen användes för att genomföra två tester. Syftet av dem var att simulera olika situationer som rengöringsroboten kan utsättas för. Resultatet visar att repetitionsnoggrannheten är god men att gyroskopet inte är tillförlitligt i låga hastigheter, vilket är en dålig egenskap för rengöringsroboten W2000 som körs med en hastighet 0,2 m/s. Testresultatet diskuterades med Bosch och dem tror att gyroskopets automatiska kalibrering är orsaken till att det inte ger tillförlitliga mätdata vid låga hastigheter. / During this project the possibilities to monitor and adjust the direction of a pool cleaning robot with a MEMS gyroscope are evaluated. The robot chosen for the evaluation is manufactured by Weda AB. The concept is to add a MEMS gyroscope to the robot, which will give the control unit (PLC) feedback regarding the direction of the robot. The evaluation includes general information about MEMS gyroscopes, where they are used, common built in errors etc. To be able to select a suitable MEMS gyroscope the needed sensitivity is calculated. The needed sensitivity is based on requirements from Weda AB. The evaluation also includes a market survey which shows that the needed sensitivity cannot be fulfilled by products available on the market. The market survey is based on nine manufacturing companies and a recommendation from a distribution company called Avnet. One of the prominent MEMS gyroscopes was used to carry out two tests. The tests were designed to mimic motions of the pool cleaning robot. The test result shows that the gyroscope has good repetition accuracy, but it is not trustworthy when the rotation speed is low. The test result was discussed with the manufacturer and they think that the non positive result is caused by the automatic calibration.

Im Zuge der Miniaturisierung werden mechanische Nichtlinearitäten immer wichtiger für die Auslegung und Optimierung von mikromechanischen Drehratensensoren. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit neuen Simulationsmethoden zur Beschreibung dieser mechanischen Nichtlinearitäten. Die Methoden werden mit Benchmark-Simulationen und Messergebnissen validiert. Die Genauigkeit der neuen Simulationsmethoden erlaubt den Einsatz in der Designoptimierung von kommerziellen MEMS Drehratensensoren. / In this thesis, new simulation methods for the mechanical nonlinearities in microelectromechanical gyroscopes are developed and validated with benchmark simulations and experimental results. The benchmark simulations use transient finite element analysis that consider geometric nonlinear effects. Experimental results are from Laser Doppler Vibrometry and electrical measurements on wafer level. Two different simulation methods, the energy- and stiffness-based approach, are compared with respect to numerical performance and accuracy. In order to evaluate these methods, four different mechanical structures are taken into account: a doubly-clamped beam, a gyroscope test structure and two state-of-the-art gyroscopes with 1 and 2 axes. For the accuracy measurement, the simulated frequency shifts of modes are compared to the true frequency shifts that are developed from either benchmark simulation, Laser Doppler Vibrometry or electrical measurement. The presented methods allow to predict the frequency shift of modes accurately and with a minimum of computational cost. Furthermore, the methodologies allow to generate modal reduced order models which are compatible with common model order reduction in the field. This makes it possible to incorporate mechanical nonlinearity in already established reduced order models of gyroscopes. The simulation and modeling strategies are applicable for generic actuated structures that can be also in different fields of study such as the aerospace and earthquake engineering.