Design and analysis of a novel electro-optical MEMS gyroscope for navigation applications

A novel gyroscope design is presented that has potential to reach navigation-grade performance, i.e. bias instability <; 0.01 °/hr and Angle Random Walk (ARW) <; 0.001 °/√hr. The design is based on the incorporation of an optical transduction mechanism used to decouple drive and sense signals, a dual crystalline silicon spring fabrication approach along with a large drive mass and small sense mass to enhance Coriolis displacement.