A MEMS-based gravity gradiometer for future planetary missions

Flokstra, J. and Cupurus, R. and Wiegerink, R.J. and Essen van, M.C. (2009) A MEMS-based gravity gradiometer for future planetary missions. Cryogenics, 49 (11). pp. 665-668. ISSN 0011-2275

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Abstract:	The gradient in the gravity acceleration is of great interest for planetologists when it can be measured with at least 1 E/√Hz. For this purpose several gravity gradiometer designs are considered. A MEMS-based gradiometer made from a single wafer is considered in this article. Using long springs and small attached masses it is possible to reach a sufficiently low Brownian noise level. The proposed readout for this device will be capacitive plates placed in a comb drive configuration. Trapped charges on these plates can cause noticeable errors when there are more than 0.004 electrons/μm2. Measurements show that trapped charge mobility goes down with temperature.
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© 2009 Elsevier
Faculty:	Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS)
Research Group:	Transducers Science and Technology (TST)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/69824
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cryogenics.2008.12.019
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