Fundamental noise limits for miniature acoustic and vibration sensors

T. B. Gabrielson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recent technological advances in microfabrication and fiber optics have made practical the construction of very small, sensitive sensors for acoustic or vibration measurements. As the sensitivity is increased or the size is decreased, a sensor becomes more susceptible to mechanical noise resulting from molecular agitation. Traditional noise analysis is often focused exclusively on electrical or optical noise; consequently, mechanical-thermal noise may not be considered in new types of sensors until the prototype testing reveals an unexpectedly high noise floor. Fortunately, mechanical-thermal noise is relatively easy to estimate early in the design process because the equivalent noise force is only a function of the temperature and the mechanical losses in the sensor There are a number of specific techniques that are applicable for evaluating either the total mechanical-thermal noise or the spectral distribution of that noise for simple or complex sensors. These techniques are presented and, in addition, a summary of other noise components is given in the context of design guidelines for high-sensitivity sensors.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)405-410
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Vibration and Acoustics, Transactions of the ASME
Volume117
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1995

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Acoustics and Ultrasonics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Fundamental noise limits for miniature acoustic and vibration sensors'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this