Dynamics and control of a MEMS angle measuring gyroscope

This paper presents an algorithm for controlling vibratory MEMS gyroscopes so that they can directly measure the rotation angle without integration of the angular rate, thus eliminating the accumulation of numerical integration errors incurred in obtaining the angle from the angular rate. The proposed control algorithm consists of a weighted energy control and a mode tuning control. The weighed energy control compensates unequal damping terms and keeps the amplitude of oscillation constant in an inertial frame by maintaining the prescribed total energy. The mode tuning control continuously tunes mismatches in spring stiffness in order to maintain a straight line of oscillation for the proof mass. The simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of the control algorithm and the viability of the concept of using a vibratory gyroscope to directly measure rotation angle. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.