Simulation-based approach for fabrication of micro-shell resonators with controllable stiffness and mass distribution

This paper presents a precision shell integrating (PSI) gyroscope design and fabrication based on an upfront simulation of a modified micro-blowtorching technique. The PSI resonator is designed to achieve low frequency n = 2 wine-glass mode and high parasitic mode frequencies to improve shock and vibration tolerance. The resonator has also larger effective mass than other MEMS gyroscope resonator designs. A non-isothermal model is developed to simulate reflow molding dynamics and solve the key challenge of PSI resonator fabrication, which is designing a patterned substrate geometry whose various regions stretch to the desired final thickness and land at the appropriate locations along a graphite mold. Our upfront process simulation model saves significant cost and time by eliminating the trial-and-error approach to fabricating PSI resonators with the desired mass and stiffness distribution.