MEMS for Geophysicists

A-10 MEMS FOR GEOPHYSICISTS 1 JON TESSMAN BRUCE REICHERT JIM MARSH JEFF GANNON and HOWARD GOLDBERG Summary Input/Output Inc. has developed a MEMS accelerometer to use as a seismic sensor for oil and gas exploration. Currently moving coil inductive geophones are used as seismic sensors. Geophone design and performance have evolved for more than 50 years to the point that modern geophones are small rugged highly sensitive to motion and produce minimal background noise. Achieving performance superior to a modern geophone with a MEMS accelerometer has been a significant technical challenge but other benefits enabled by MEMS and accelerometer technology