Measurement and comparison of graphene-based resonant accelerometers

An accelerometer is a device used to measure acceleration. Acceleration is the rate of change of an object’s velocity, measured in square meters per second [m/s2] or g force. This type of device is used to detect vibrations or the orientation of certain systems. We can find accelerometers in many fields like engineering or industry. Today accelerometers are very much expected in the fields of biology and biomechanics, that said for these fields the devices must become smaller and smaller to be able to respond to the problem encountered in this sector, for example to equip micro-ships that could be used in the human body and thus help in their navigation. In this project we will try to test accelerometers that could address this important issue. These accelerometers are developed at KTH[1] Royal Institute of Technology, they are the smallest accelerometer today, they have been designed with a graphene membrane that supports a silicone proof mass. They belong to the category of Nano-Electro-Mechanical Systems (NEMS). We studied different types of masses (different shapes and sizes) and under different conditions. Firstly to see if we could verify some form of repeatability in the devices and if we were close to the theoretical results. And secondly to see if one configuration was better than the others. The results show that the circles masses were way more effective and that the sizes did not really affect the results. And we also showed that the annealing and the clamping had a important effect on the devices.