Development of environmentally robust and thermally stable Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) based accelerometer for automotive applications

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The goal of this partnership is to develop a cost effective, stable and shock immune micro accelerometers for automotive applications. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based accelerometers are small sensors that can detect small inertial movements. They are widely used in automotive such as for stability control, air-bag deployment and crash detection. Automotive applications require accelerometers to work in quite harsh environment involving vibration, shock, temperature, and thermal cycling. Despite the surge in low-cost MEMS accelerometers, they still suffer from low temperature stability, noise and shock immunity. With the ever-increasing thrust for autonomy and electrification of vehicles the demand for precision, robust but cost-effective sensors is growing. MEMS accelerometers use a resonating silicon mass as the sensing element. The major issue with the silicon-based MEMS resonator is its inherent low thermal stability. Currently, there is no fixed design approach available to enhance the stability and shock immunity in cost-effective MEMS accelerometers. To overcome the above-mentioned limitations, this research aims to take a ground-breaking approach by utilizing robust mechanical materials combined with novel sensor design to achieve thermal and shock stability as well as lower the cost. This NSERC Alliance grant will be a first-time collaboration between the partner industries and the University of Windsor to develop a robust MEMS based accelerometer for temperature and shock stability. It is also expected to create a ripple effect in other similar automotive inertial sensors including gyroscopes and inertial measurement units. There will be major benefits to Canadians as it will directly assist the innovation of much-needed high-performance and cost-effective micro-sensor systems in the emerging area of autonomous navigation, and it is expected to increase Canada's competitiveness in this area. It will put Canada in a leadership role in the global arena in the high precision and stable acceleration sensor development.