Design and Fabrication of a Dual-Range MEMS Capacitive Accelerometer With a Novel Dual-Flexural Suspension System

This article presents the design, simulation, and fabrication of a novel dual-range microelectromechanical system (MEMS) capacitive accelerometer that utilizes a dual-flexural suspension system for enhanced dynamic performance. The device integrates two sensing modes—low-g and high-g—within a unified architecture to achieve both high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. Through systematic design optimization using COMSOL Multiphysics, the proposed accelerometer exhibits a high degree of linearity and stability across both operational ranges. Based on ultraviolet lithographie, galvanoformung, abformung (UV-LIGA) technology, the fabrication process is detailed alongside the results of the fabricated sensor’s structure. Experimental results demonstrate successful mode switching with a sensitivity of 0.9 and 0.2 mV/g for low-g and high-g modes, respectively, validating the viability of the dual-mode concept for advanced inertial sensing applications such as navigation and structural monitoring.