Temperature Effects on the Performance and Reliability of MEMS Gyroscope Sensors

Elevated temperatures can significantly affect the performance and reliability of MEMS gyroscope sensors. A MEMS vibrating resonant gyroscope measures angular velocity via a displacement measurement which can be on the order on nanometers. High sensitivity to small changes in displacement causes the MEMS Gyroscope sensor to be strongly affected by changes in temperature which can affect the displacement of the sensor due to thermal expansion and thermomechanical stresses. Analyzing the effect of temperature on MEMS gyroscope sensor measurements is essential in mission critical high temperature applications, such as inertial tracking of the movement of a fire fighter in a smoke filled indoor environment where GPS tracking is not possible. In this paper, we will discuss the development of a test protocol which was used to assess temperature effects. Both stationary and rotary tests were performed at room and at elevated temperatures on 10 individual single axis MEMS gyroscope sensors.