Overload Resistance of Inertial Sensors: Enabling Enhanced Precision and Robustness to Expand Applications

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) inertial sensors are widely used in industrial, aerospace, and military applications for detecting and measuring acceleration, tilt, shock, vibration, rotation, and multi-degree-of-freedom (DoF) motion. However, under extreme conditions, these sensors can experience high overload impacts, which may cause structural damage or functional failure, potentially leading to serious operational issues. Therefore, enhancing the overload resistance of MEMS inertial sensors has become a vital area of research. This study begins with an analysis of representative inertial devices and typical overload scenarios. Based on the failure mechanisms observed under overload conditions, existing overload protection strategies are systematically categorized into three main approaches according to how they constrain the motion of movable structures: mitigating collision impact, avoiding collisions, and immobilizing movable components. The paper provides a comprehensive review and comparative analysis of these methods, revealing that current solutions face challenges in simultaneously attaining both high measurement accuracy and high overload tolerance. This observation underscores the complexities inherent in the field while also highlighting the promising opportunities for advancing overload-resistant designs in MEMS inertial sensors.