A System-Level Modeling of Noise in Coupled Resonating MEMS Sensors

Abstract

This paper presents realistic system-level modeling of effective noise sources in a coupled resonating mode-localized MEMS sensors. A governing set of differential equations are used to build a numerical model of a mechanical noise source in a coupled-resonator sensor and an effective thermo-mechanical noise is quantified through the simulation performed via SIMULINK. On a similar note, an effective noise that stems from the electronic readout used for the coupled resonating MEMS sensors is also quantified. Various noise sources in electronic readout are identified and the contribution of each is quantified. A comparison between an effective mechanical and electronic noise in a sensor system aids in identifying the dominant noise source in a sensor system. A method to optimize the system noise floor for an amplitude-based readout is presented. The proposed models present a variety of operating conditions, such as finite quality factor, varying coupled electrostatic spring strength, and operation with in-phase and out-of-phase mode. The proposed models aim to study the impact of fundamental noise processes that govern the ultimate resolution into a coupled resonating system used for various sensing applications.