This paper reports on the design, fabrication and preliminary test results of a novel\nmicroelectromechanical systems (MEMS) deviceââ?¬â?the acoustic gyroscope. The unique operating\nmechanism is based on the ââ?¬Å?acoustic versionââ?¬Â of the Sagnac effect in fiber-optic gyros. The device\nmeasures the phase difference between two sound waves traveling in opposite directions, and\ncorrelates the signal to the angular velocity of the hosting frame. As sound travels significantly\nslower than light and develops a larger phase change within the same path length, the acoustic gyro\ncan potentially outperform fiber-optic gyros in sensitivity and form factor. It also promises superior\nstability compared to vibratory MEMS gyros as the design contains no moving parts and is largely\ninsensitive to mechanical stress or temperature. We have carried out systematic simulations and\nexperiments, and developed a series of processes and design rules to implement the device.
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