A programmable emulator of MEMS inertial sensors

This paper presents a fully-configurable digital system that emulates MEMS inertial sensors. Its main function is to synthesize all the electro-thermo-mechanical features of the device, in order to allow the characterization of electronic systems (ASICs for MEMS or MEMS-dedicated instrumentation) coupled to the (emulated) MEMS, (i) without the need to have a physically available sensor and (ii) with the possibility to vary the sensors parameters as desired. The core of the system is constituted by an FPGA that emulates in the digital domain the behavior of the device. Thanks to its digital, hence easy-to-configure nature, it guarantees high versatility and adaptability to different emulation scenarios with a simple firmware update.