An Advanced Micromachined Package for the Quartz Disk Resonant Gyroscope

The objective of this proposal is to demonstrate the feasibility of a fully packaged microelectromechanical (MEMS) gyroscope with a 7 milliarcsecond pointing accuracysufficient for space and terrestrial telescope pointing applications. This new environmental resistant packaged (ERP) resonant gyroscope will have a small size, weight and power (SWAP) with a mass of around 6 grams and a volume of 3.1 cm3 (fully packaged and with drive electronics) at a cost of ~$500 per axis in volume production. This would be 1/200th of the size and 1/40th of the price of the current state of the art. In phase I, the feasibility of achieving a 0.001 degree Celsius temperature stability will be investigated using the oven control feature of the ERP. This level of temperature control will mitigate the sensor's long term drift (bias drift). In Phase II through some small changes in the gyroscope layout and optimizations in the control electronics, a gyroscope system will be fabricate which is optimized for pointing applications. These optimized resonant gyroscopes will be integrated into the ERP package with its improved oven control capability. The goal will be to transition into preproduction runs after Phase II.

The exceptional attitude accuracy of this device (0.001 degrees/h), small size and low cost will enable a wide range of new applications including attitude control of vehicles and hulls on tanks, Jeeps and Humvees; antenna pointing for broadband communications and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

For space pointing applications, this light weight, low cost fully packaged sensor will enable large numbers of nanosatellites (1 to 10 kg) and picosatellites (multiple <1 kg satellites working together) enabling detailed images and radiation detection from far away planets, galaxies and black holes. Furthermore, for terrestrial telescope pointing applications this gyroscope is small enough to be placed in the telescopes focal plane for exceptionally precise positioning. This precision gyroscope will also make an excellent choice for navigation and control applications in space--especially for small satellites and probes.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.