Abstract
Onera has been developing vibrating inertial MEMS sensors with performances good enough for space uses. Associated conventional analog electronics are not limiting the physical performances of the sensors. They are, however, bulky, not reconfigurable, and do not deliver digital measurements to the on-board computer. Furthermore, when used for space applications, they have to cope with dependency and obsolescence requiring a new qualification when any part is changed.This thesis offers a new digital generic architecture with as few analog parts as possible. Work has been focused on two sensors developed by Onera: the VIA, a vibrating beam accelerometer, and the VIG, a Coriolis vibrating gyro, but can address other sensors. A first digital function identified is event timestamping for frequency and phase measurements; a second key function is the direct digital synthesis of the oscillating sensors driving signal; the third one generates pure sine signals from binary sequences output from the digital platform. These function are implemented as peripherals of an embedded processor on a FPGA.This dissertation firstly reminds physical laws and technologies of inertial measurements, followed by a quick review of oscillators, analog and digital, in order to introduce the chosen digital architecture. A following chapter studies the theory of the digital functions considered and identifies their performances. Afterwards, realisations and first experimental results are exposed, at a function level first, at a global level then, with the sensor and the embedded software to provide real inertial readings. The results gathered boost the idea of deploying digital electronics in future sensor releases.