State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Hao Luo
Intel Labs, San Francisco, CA 95054, USA
Buyun Chen
State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Jin Tao
State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Zhihong Feng
State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Hao Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Wenlan Guo
State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Daihua Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
This paper reports on the design, fabrication and preliminary test results of a novel microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device—the acoustic gyroscope. The unique operating mechanism is based on the “acoustic version” of the Sagnac effect in fiber-optic gyros. The device measures the phase difference between two sound waves traveling in opposite directions, and correlates the signal to the angular velocity of the hosting frame. As sound travels significantly slower than light and develops a larger phase change within the same path length, the acoustic gyro can potentially outperform fiber-optic gyros in sensitivity and form factor. It also promises superior stability compared to vibratory MEMS gyros as the design contains no moving parts and is largely insensitive to mechanical stress or temperature. We have carried out systematic simulations and experiments, and developed a series of processes and design rules to implement the device.
