Testing of MEMS capacitive accelerometer structure through electro-static actuation

The present paper discusses a method for testing a MEMS capacitive accelerometer structure through electrical actuation. The response of a standard MEMS capacitive accelerometer structure for different electrical actuation voltages has been analyzed. The accelerometer structure along with a capacitance sensing integrated circuit (IC) MS3110 is modeled and simulated. A set of proto-type accelerometer structures is fabricated and packaged in PGA packages. The packaged MEMS structures and MS3110 IC are integrated on a printed circuit board. The MEMS structure is actuated by applying the electrical signal through the actuation fingers and the change in capacitance is measured by the MS3110 IC. The simulated and measured results show some interesting phenomenon like dipping and frequency doubling which are useful for initial testing and characterization of a MEMS accelerometer structure.