A Review of Micromachined Thermal Accelerometers

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive survey of thermal micromachined accelerometers, covering their theory, design, materials, performance, and applications, highlighting their advantages over traditional accelerometers.

Contribution

It offers an extensive review of the development, structures, materials, and challenges of thermal accelerometers, serving as a valuable resource for future research and development.

Findings

Thermal accelerometers have high shock survival and low cost.

Various designs and materials influence performance and fabrication.

Thermal accelerometers are suitable for integration with CMOS technology.

Abstract

Thermal convection based micro-electromechanical accelerometer is a relatively new kind of acceleration sensor that does not require a solid proof mass, yielding unique benefits like high shock survival rating, low production cost, and integrability with CMOS integrated circuit technology. This article provides a comprehensive survey of the research, development, and current trends in the field of thermal acceleration sensors, with detailed enumeration on the theory, operation, modeling, and numerical simulation of such devices. Different reported varieties and structures of thermal accelerometers have been reviewed highlighting key design, implementation, and performance aspects. Materials and technologies used for fabrication of such sensors have also been discussed. Further, the advantages and challenges for thermal accelerometers vis-\`a-vis other prominent accelerometer types have been presented, followed by an overview of associated signal conditioning circuitry and potential applications.