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This paper presents a scale factor calibration method based on virtual accelerations generated by electrostatic force. This method uses a series of voltage signals to simulate the inertial forces caused by the acceleration input, rather than frequent and laborious calibrations with high-precision instruments. The error transfer model of this method is systematically analyzed, and the geometrical parameters of this novel micromachined resonant accelerometer (MRA) are optimized. The experimental results demonstrate that, referring to the traditional earth's gravitational field tumble calibration method, the error of the scale factor calibration is 0.46% within ±1 g by using our method. Moreover, the scale factor is compensated by virtual accelerations. After compensation, the maximum temperature drift of the scale factor decreases from 2.46 Hz/g to 1.02 Hz/g, with a temperature range from 40 °C to 80 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we demonstrate a novel photonic integrated accelerometer based on the optical mode localization sensing mechanism, which is designed on an SOI wafer with a device layer thickness of 220 nm. High sensitivity and large measurement range can be achieved by integrating coupled ring resonators with a suspended directional coupler on a proof mass. With the help of FEA simulation and numerical analysis, the proposed optical mode-localized sensor presents a sensitivity of 10/g (modal power ratio/acceleration) and an inertial displacement of from −8 to 10 microns corresponding to a range from −23.5 to 29.4 g. The free spectral range is 4.05 nm around 1.55 microns. The acceleration resolution limited by thermomechanical noise is 4.874 μg. The comprehensive performance of this design is competitive with existing MEMS mode localized accelerometers. It demonstrates the potential of the optical mode-localized inertial sensors as candidates for state-of-the-art sensors in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]