Accelerometer

Introduction:
One of the most common inertial sensors is the accelerometer, a dynamic sensor capable of a
vast range of sensing. Accelerometers are available that can measure acceleration in one, two, or
three orthogonal axes. They are typically used in one of three modes:
 As an inertial measurement of velocity and position;
 As a sensor of inclination, tilt, or orientation in 2 or 3 dimensions, as referenced from the
acceleration of gravity (1 g = 9.8m/s2);
 As a vibration or impact (shock) sensor.
There are considerable advantages to using an analog accelerometer as opposed to
an inclinometer such as a liquid tilt sensor – inclinometers tend to output binary information
(indicating a state of on or off), thus it is only possible to detect when the tilt has exceeded some
thresholding angle.

Principles of Operation:

Most accelerometers are Micro-Electro-Mechanical Sensors (MEMS). The basic principle of

operation behind the MEMS accelerometer is the displacement of a small proof mass etched into
the silicon surface of the integrated circuit and suspended by small beams. Consistent with
Newton's second law of motion (F = ma), as an acceleration is applied to the device, a force
develops which displaces the mass. The support beams act as a spring, and the fluid (usually air)
trapped inside the IC acts as a damper, resulting in a second order lumped physical system. This
is the source of the limited operational bandwidth and non-uniform frequency response of
accelerometers.

Types of Accelerometer:

There are several different principles upon which an analog accelerometer can be built. Two very
common types utilize capacitive sensing and the piezoelectric effect to sense the displacement of
the proof mass proportional to the applied acceleration.

Capacitive:

Accelerometers that implement capacitive sensing output a voltage dependent on the distance
between two planar surfaces. One or both of these “plates” are charged with an electrical current.
Changing the gap between the plates changes the electrical capacity of the system, which can be
measured as a voltage output. This method of sensing is known for its high accuracy and
stability. Capacitive accelerometers are also less prone to noise and variation with temperature,
typically dissipates less power, and can have larger bandwidths due to internal feedback
circuitry.
 Fig: Capacitive Accelerometer

Piezoelectric:

Piezoelectric sensing of acceleration is natural, as acceleration is directly proportional to force.

When certain types of crystal are compressed, charges of opposite polarity accumulate on
opposite sides of the crystal. This is known as the piezoelectric effect. In a piezoelectric
accelerometer, charge accumulates on the crystal and is translated and amplified into either an
output current or voltage.

Piezoelectric accelerometers only respond to AC phenomenon such as vibration or shock. They

have a wide dynamic range, but can be expensive depending on their quality (Doscher 2005)

Piezo-film based accelerometers are best used to measure AC phenomenon such as vibration or
shock, rather than DC phenomenon such as the acceleration of gravity. They are inexpensive,
and respond to other phenomenon such as temperature, sound, and pressure.
Overview of other types that are less used in audio applications:

Piezoresistive:
Piezoresistive accelerometers (also known as Strain gauge accelerometers) work by measuring
the electrical resistance of a material when mechanical stress is applied. They are preferred in
high shock applications and they can measure acceleration down to 0Hz. However, they have a
limited high frequency response.

Hall Effect:
Hall Effect accelerometers work by measuring the voltage variations caused by the change in
magnetic field around them.

Heat transfer:
Heat transfer accelerometers consist in a single heat source centered in a substrate and suspended
across cavity. They include equally spaced thermo resistors on the four side of the heat source.
They measure the internal changes in heat due to acceleration. When there is zero acceleration,
the heat gradient will be symmetrical. Otherwise, under acceleration, the heat gradient will
become asymmetrical due to convection heat transfer.

There are many other types of accelerometer, including:

 Null-balance
 Servo force balance
 Strain gauge
 Resonance
 Optical
 Surface acoustic wave (SAW)

Specifications:

A typical accelerometer has the following basic specifications:

 Analog/digital
 Number of axes
 Output range (maximum swing)
 Sensitivity (voltage output per g)
 Dynamic range
 Bandwidth
 Amplitude stability
 Mass

Analog vs. digital:

The most important specification of an accelerometer for a given application is its type of output.
Analog accelerometers output a constant variable voltage depending on the amount of
acceleration applied. Older digital accelerometers output a variable frequency square wave, a
method known as pulse-width modulation. A pulse width modulated accelerometer takes
readings at a fixed rate, typically 1000 Hz (though this may be user-configurable based on the IC
selected). The value of the acceleration is proportional to the pulse width (or duty cycle) of the
PWM signal. Newer digital accelerometers are more likely to output their value using multi-wire
digital protocols such as I2C or SPI.
For use with ADCs commonly used for music interaction systems, analog accelerometers are
usually preferred.
Selecting an Accelerometer:

When selecting an accelerometer for a given application, it is important to consider some of its
key characteristics:

Bandwidth (Hz):

The bandwidth of a sensor indicates the range of vibration frequencies to which the
accelerometer responds or how often a reliable reading can be taken. Humans cannot create body
motion much beyond the range of 10Hz to12Hz. For this reason, a bandwidth of 40Hz to 60Hz is
adequate for sensing a tilt or human motion.

Sensitivity (mV/g or LSB/g):

Sensitivity is a measure of the minimum detectable signal or the change in output electrical
signal per change in input mechanical change. This is valid in one frequency only.

Voltage noise density (µg/SQRT Hz):

Voltage noise changes with the inverse square root of the bandwidth. The faster that we read
accelerometer changes, the worse accuracy we get. Noise has a higher influence on the
performance of the accelerometers when operating at lower g conditions with a smaller output
signal.

Zero-g voltage:
This term specifies the range of voltages that can be expected at the output under 0g of
acceleration.

Frequency response (Hz):

This is the frequency range specified with a tolerance band (±5%, etc) for which the sensor will
detect motion and report a true output. The specified band tolerance lets the user calculate how
much the device's sensitivity deviates from the reference sensitivity at any frequency within its
specified frequency range.

Dynamic range (g):

This is the range between the smallest detectable amplitude that the accelerometer can measure
to the largest amplitude before distorting or clipping the output signal.

Uses:

The acceleration measurement has a variety of uses. The sensor can be implemented in a system
that detects velocity, position, shock, vibration, or the acceleration of gravity to determine
orientation.

A system consisting of two orthogonal sensors is capable of sensing pitch and roll. This is useful
in capturing head movements. A third orthogonal sensor can be added to the network to obtain
orientation in three dimensional spaces. This is appropriate for the detection of pen angles, etc.
The sensing capabilities of this network can be furthered to six degrees of spatial measurement
freedom by the addition of three orthogonal gyroscopes.

As a shock detector, an accelerometer is looking for changes in acceleration. This jerk is sensed
as an over damped vibration.

Verplaetse has outlined the bandwidths associated with various implementations of

accelerometers as an input device. These are:

Depending on the sensitivity and dynamic range required, the cost of an accelerometer can grow
to thousands of dollars. Nonetheless, highly accurate inexpensive sensors are available.