0.00016 deg/√hr Angle Random Walk (ARW) and 0.0014 deg/hr Bias Instability (BI) from a 5.2M-Q and 1-cm Precision Shell Integrating (PSI) Gyroscope

Abstract

We report record-high performance from a fused-silica micro Precision Shell Integrating (PSI) gyroscope. The PSI gyroscope uses a fused-silica resonator with a diameter of 1 cm and a mechanical quality factor (Q) of 5.2 million. The gyroscope has an angle random walk (ARW) of 0.00016 deg/√hr and short-term in-run bias instability of 0.0014 deg/hr without any temperature compensation. This performance for such a small shell gyroscope compares well with the larger mHRG and HRG devices reported previously. This performance, in a device this small, is achieved by optimizing the fabrication of the shell resonator so it provides high Q, large mass, high frequency resonance, and low as-fabricated frequency mismatch.