Could MEMS IMU Reach Cold-Atom Performance?
ABSTRACT
Today’s tactical and navigational grade inertial measurement units (IMUs) usually comprise fiber optic or ring laser gyroscopes (FOG/RLG). While these technologies enable impressive low noise and high resolution, further reduction in size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) without sacrificing key performance metrics is very challenging. On the other hand, wafer-level MEMS technology has been progressing throughout the decades but has yet to deliver navigation-grade performance. With significant efforts at Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) in the last several years, we have dramatically improved the technology readiness level of navigation-grade single sensor cores (TRL 6). These components containing both ASIC and MEMS inside a stand-alone hermetic ceramic package of 7x7x2 mm3 size and consuming only 20 mW of power deliver noise levels of 0.0035 deg/rt-hr Gyro Angle Random Walk (ARW) and 0.008 (m/s)/hr Accelerometer Velocity Random Walk (VRW). Finally, to reach the next leap in performance, a noise reduction technique was implemented and experimentally demonstrated noise levels of 0.000003 deg/rt-hr ARW, which was previously only achievable exclusively by atomic gyroscopes of a tabletop size.
BIOGRAPHY
Igor Prikhodko is a Principal Engineer at Analog Devices, where he focuses on R&D of inertial MEMs and IMUs. He has over a dozen US Patents on gyroscope designs and navigation systems, which are currently in production as ADIS16500, ADIS16545, ADIS16550, and AD24501 families of IMUs. Dr. Prikhodko received a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Irvine in 2013. His work is reflected in over 40 peer-reviewed journal and refereed conference papers.