A Tunable Quasi-Zero Stiffness Mechanism for Thermal Compensation of a MEMS Gravimeter

For the requirements of high sensitivity and long-term stability of a MEMS gravimeter. This paper presents a tunable quasi-zero stiffness mechanism by a complementary quasi-zero stiffness structure of the pre-shaped bistable beam and conventional folded springs. The V-beam actuators are used to drive a voltage controlled bulking compression for stiffness compensation. The system is theoretically modeled by Galerkin method based on the first buckling mode, and the behavior of nonlinear spring is discussed. The performance result shows that the value and interval of the negative stiffness are determined by the as-fabricated height-to-width and height-to-length ratios, and actively tuned by the effective axial load. The behavior of this mechanism shows a promising potential of realizing a highly stable gravimeter.

Automated summary

This paper introduces a tunable quasi-zero stiffness mechanism for a MEMS gravimeter, utilizing a combination of pre-shaped bistable beam and conventional folded springs. V-beam actuators are employed for stiffness compensation. The system's behavior is theoretically modeled using the Galerkin method, demonstrating potential for a highly stable gravimeter through active tuning of negative stiffness values and intervals.