Accelerometer Specifications - Deciphering An Accelerometer's Datasheet

03/02/2022, 14:49 Accelerometer Specifications: Deciphering an Accelerometer's Datasheet
Accelerometer Specifications: Deciphering an

Accelerometer's Datasheet
SENSORS & DATA ACQUISITION WIRELESS ACCELEROMETERS 12 COMMENTS
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BY STEVE HANLY
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Why, why, why are accelerometer datasheets so confusing? There's a reason. Accelerometer
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companies, understandably, try to position their products in the best light possible, and they
https://blog.endaq.com/accelerometer-specifications-decoding-a-datasheet 1/15
often do so by using complicated terminology and units for the accelerometer's specifications.
I frequently talk with customers who don't fully understand the different specifications used on
an accelerometer's datasheet. And this makes shopping for an accelerometer an even more
difficult task than it already is!
In this post I will provide brief descriptions of 10 specifications often listed on accelerometer
datasheets that you can use as a reference for whenever you are shopping around for
accelerometers - the sensor that tells us how the world moves! I've also included a one page
cheat sheet for quick reference - the link is at the bottom of the page.
Accelerometer Specifications
1. Accelerometer Type - Capacitive MEMS, Piezoelectric, or
Piezoresisitve
There are three main types of accelerometers: capacitive MEMS, piezoelectric, and piezoresistive.
The accelerometer's datasheet will, or should, tell you exactly what type it is because picking the
right accelerometer type for your application can make all the difference. Generally a capacitive
MEMS accelerometer is best for motion sensing applications (think human motion which is
relatively slow/low frequency); piezoelectric is best for vibration; and piezoresistive is best for
shock testing. Check out my blog post on accelerometer selection for a more in depth discussion
and breakdown between the different types.
2. Frequency Response or Bandwidth

Bandwidth, or frequency response, is the most important parameter in accelerometer selection.
You won't get accurate results if the bandwidth of the accelerometer doesn't include the
frequency of the motion, vibration, or shock you are hoping to measure. The frequency
response specification shows the maximum deviation of sensitivity over a frequency range.
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The bandwidth is usually specified as a tolerance band, relative to the reference
frequency sensitivity (usually 100 Hz). The tolerance band can be specified in percentage and/or
dBs with typical bands being ±5%, ±10%, ±1 dB, and even ±3 dB. Most data sheets will have a 
typical frequency response curve to assist the user. The enDAQ sensor's (formerly Slam Stick)
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frequency response is shown below for Sensing
an example Tips!
(taken from the datasheet); it
conveniently compares decibel to percentage deviation also.
Bandwidth information tells the user if the accelerometer can measure slow or static
accelerations and also defines the upper frequency limit where the accelerometer will still be
accurate. If the lower range of the bandwidth doesn't go to 0 Hz (called DC-response) the
accelerometer won't be able to measure static accelerations like gravity or slow vibrations (< 2
Hz) like those seen in marine environments. DC-response accelerometers are also required for
applications where velocity (by integrating the acceleration data), or displacement (double
integrated) is of interest. Accelerometers that do not have a DC response will have an intrinsic
decay function that will result in significant error during numeric integration, especially over long
duration events. They can however be used to determine velocity or displacement amplitude of
higher frequency (above 5 hertz) periodic motion, or simple harmonic motion (check out Mide's
simple harmonic motion calculator for more information - Note: enDAQ is a division of Mide).
The frequency response of a sensor is typically governed at the high frequency end primarily by
the mechanical resonance of the sensor. They are also the result sometimes of low-pass filtering
used to prevent aliasing.
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3. Sensitivity
Sensitivity of an accelerometer defines at what rate the sensor converts mechanical energy into
an electric signal (the output); and this will define the acceleration measurement range of the
Signexpressed
accelerometer. Sensitivity is usually Up for as Sensing Tips! per g) or pC/g
mV/g (millivolts or
(picocoulombs per g), where g is the acceleration due to gravity or 9.81 m/s2; but digital output
accelerometers will specify this as LSB/g (least significant bit per g). The sensitivity that you
desire depends on the level By
ofsigning
the signal
up youyou
are wish to to
agreeing measure.
our PrivacyIfPolicy.
you are interested in small
vibrations then a higher sensitivity will be desirable to provide a cleaner signal (higher signal to
noise ratio). When trying to measure higher amplitudes for shock events you will need a lower
sensitivity. Piezoresistive accelerometers typically have a very low sensitivity (less than 1 mV/g)
and require an additional amplifier.
4. Measurement Range
As its name implies this specification defines the range of acceleration amplitude the
accelerometer can measure, directly proportional to the sensitivity. This is not to be confused
with shock limits that define what acceleration level the accelerometer can tolerate before
damage. I often find that customers underestimate the amplitude of the
vibrations/accelerations they are looking to measure. It's generally good practice to only use the
lower 20% of an accelerometer's measurement range to ensure ample margins for measuring
unpredicted or unexpected accelerations.
5. Noise
Noise levels can be
defined in a number
of different ways.
Some accelerometers
will define residual
noise as a
broadband RMS
value, usually with
the units of µV or µg.
This is calculated by
taking the root mean
square of the signal
without any
mechanical
excitation.
Accelerations below
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the broadband noise
level will not be resolvable. I've included an image to the right of the broadband noise of a ±25g
an enDAQ sensor when sampling at 20 kHz with a 5 kHz low pass filter. The datasheet specifies a
noise level as less than 0.01g RMS; and you can see that noise levels are generally within

this ±0.01g range.
Some accelerometer datasheets provide a spectral noise parameter which will be specified as
µV/√Hz or µg/√Hz. When this value is multiplied by the square root of the measurement
bandwidth, this result is theBy
nominal RMS
signing up you acceleration noise
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Privacy sensor. Many accelerometers
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will specify this

spectral noise density
for different ranges
because noise levels
tend to drop at
higher frequencies as
shown in an FFT (Fast
Fourier transform) of
the noise levels of a
sample sensor
recording. This FFT
was generated with
the enDAQ Lab
Software (formerly
Slam Stick Lab).
6. Resolution
Resolution of an accelerometer is generally only given for digital output accelerometers or
systems that incorporate an analog to digital converter. Resolution will typically be specified as
bits which can then be used to calculate the resolution in acceleration units. For example let’s
say that an accelerometer system has 16-bit resolution; this means that it has 216 (65,536)
acceleration levels or bins it can measure. For a ±100g measurement range this equates to a
resolution of 0.003g (200/65536) which is the smallest measurable acceleration level. In the
broadband noise image, the data was generated with a ±25g accelerometer with 14-bit
resolution (the resolution of the sensor goes as high as 16-bit for sample rates below 8.5 kHz).
This also equates to a resolution of 0.003g (50/214); and you can see how these data points are
always separated by at least 0.003g.
7. Filtering
Filtering can be integrated in some accelerometers to improve the signal quality. A high pass
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filter is inherent to all piezoelectric accelerometers (resistor and capacitor in series) which gives
these accelerometers the AC response. A low pass filter is very common in accelerometers and
accelerometer systems to prevent aliasing which can’t be filtered out in software. There are a
number of different filter types (some common ones are Butterworth, Elliptical, and Bessel) that
are explained in more detail inSign Uponfor
our post Sensing
different Tips!
filters for vibration testing. Having some
filtering for a digital accelerometer or accelerometer system is important though and products
that do not have some filtering should be avoided.
8. Temperature sensitivity
Temperature sensitivity defines how the sensitivity of the accelerometer shifts with
temperature. Accelerometers are mechanical systems so temperature will impact the device’s
mechanical properties and thus the sensitivity of the accelerometer. Temperature sensitivity is
typically defined as a percentage shift per degree Celsius (%/°C). For accelerometers that have a
high temperature sensitivity (piezoelectric and piezoresistive tend to), you will need some form
of temperature compensation to scale the output accordingly to offset the effect of
temperature. Some accelerometers will include this compensation. If you will be testing in an
environment that sees temperature changes and/or extremes, temperature sensitivity can’t be
overlooked; it can lead to errors greater than 50%.
9. Transverse sensitivity
Transverse sensitivity defines how sensitive the accelerometer is to accelerations 90 degrees (or
orthogonal) to the sensitive axis of the sensor. This parameter is expressed as a percentage.
Ideally it should be 0% but due to manufacturing tolerances the transverse sensitivity is often 5%
or 10%.
10. Triaxial
Triaxial indicates that the accelerometer can measure acceleration in all 3 directions. Most often
you will prefer a 3-axis accelerometer to fully understand the response of your system in 3-
dimensional space. Higher end accelerometers are typically only single axis which may require
you to purchase and install three units for your testing which can be both expensive and time
consuming.
Now What?
Before you can get to testing out your new skills, it's important to identify what you are looking
to measure and select the right accelerometer type; this blog post on accelerometer ▲ TOP
selection provides some good information on this process. It also includes a few links to
different accelerometer manufacturers.
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If searching through the endless selection of accelerometers sounds a bit daunting, check out my
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blog on different vibration measurement for Sensing
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these systems incorporate an
accelerometer which can make your test setup a little less complex to save you time and money.
Now that you understand the terminology used on accelerometer datasheets, you're ready
to start shopping! Good luck, and don't hesitate to come back to this article and use it as a
reference in your quest for the perfect accelerometer for your application!
If you'd like to learn a little more about various aspects in shock and vibration testing and
analysis, download our free Shock & Vibration Testing Overview eBook. In there are some
examples, background, and a ton of links to where you can learn more. And as always, don't
hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions!
For more on this topic, visit our dedicated Wireless Sensors resource page. There you’ll find more
blog posts, case studies, webinars, software, and products focused on your wireless
accelerometer testing and analysis needs.
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Steve Hanly
Steve is the Vice President of Product at Mide (enDAQ is a product line from Mide).
He started out at Mide as a Mechanical Engineer in 2010. He...
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COMMENTS (14)
Senthil kumar 23/07/2018, 08:00:27

How to convert LSB/g to Counts in accelerometer and LSB/g to mg/digit
Reply to Senthil kumar
Steve Hanly 25/07/2018, 20:22:59

Good question Senthil,
These digital accelerometers will often spec the resolution as LSB/g which can initially be
a bit confusing. It means "least significant bit" per g. In order to know what this means in
g you just take the inverse.
For example, the ADXL345 has a resolution of 10-bit in 2g mode and specs the
resolution as 256 LSB/g. This means they can measure discrete "bins" of 0.0039 g (or 3.9
mg). This can also be calculated by taking the measurement range (+/- 2 g = 4g), and
dividing by the resolution (10-bit = 2^10 = 1024) to get the same number (4/1024).
Hope this helps,

Steve
Reply to Steve Hanly
ck 17/04/2019, 06:00:48
Hi Steve,
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Based on the calculation above, if the measurement range of the ADXL345 in 8g▲mode,
then the calculation would be 16/1024 = 0.015625g am i correct?
Reply to ck 
Thomas 14/09/2018, 03:01:26

Hi Steve,
I am currently looking at the ADXL312 accelerometer for a project I'm working on and
just wondering how to identify whether it is a MEMs accelerometer or not? I am looking
at the datasheet and can see no where on it what type of accelerometer this is, just
wondering if there is another way to identify this?
I also wanted to ask about the key differences between analog and digital
accelerometers and what kind of outputs they would both produce for say just picking
up acceleration due to gravity?
Cheers,
Thomas
Reply to Thomas
Ed 10/02/2019, 15:56:42
Great blog!!! Very helpful! I was wondering if you had a blog that shows real-world
examples of the 10 requirements based on real-world applications? Like doing a use case
chart for: Physical Activity (fitness tracking), Physical Vibration Tracking like Seizures
(medical), Sensing motor malfunction/machinery noise, etc. Thank you again for taking the
time to provide this incredibly insightful information!
Reply to Ed
Jose Manuel Pereñíguez 09/07/2020, 09:04:52

Hi Steve,
First of all, thanks for your post.
I am a biologist, so I am not an expert on accelerometers, and that's what I wanted to

ask your opinion.
I am using two types of accelerometers in an experiment with fishes. One of them is the
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typical accelerometer (http://www.gcdataconcepts.com/x16-mini.html) which can
measure at different frequencies, etc. In my case, I used a record frequency of 12 Hz
and the accelerometer has a sensitivity of 16G. 
The other accelerometer isSign included
Up infor an Sensing
acoustic deviceTips! which also measures the
depth of my fish, and it measures acceleration every certain time windows and with a
lower resolution (5 HZ and sensibility of 3G) than the other accelerometer. The
mohammad.ilkhani@nottingham.ac.uk SIGNpoint
ME UPis
that this second device By
is what
signing we usually
up you use in
are agreeing to aquatic
our Privacyenvironments
Policy. for research
since you do not need to re-catch the fish to get the data. However, I wanted to assess
how well the accelerometer of this acoustic device measures the activity of my fish given
it records at a lower frequency, it has a lower acceleration sensitivity (3G instead of 16G)
and it was placed inside the animal (in the ventral cavity), while the "true" accelerometer
was placed externally, where the movements are more pronounced.
My doubt is if I can say that I am assessing the "sensitivity" of the accelerometer within
the acoustic device, or how should I call to what I am doing? Accuracy? Just to recall, I
am comparing the activity measures from the accelerometer of the acoustic device with
the activity measures from the "true" accelerometer and assessing how close are
activity values from the accelerometer of the acoustic device to the activity values of my
other accelerometer.
Could you give me your opinion? It is a doubt about terminology...

Reply to Jose Manuel Pereñíguez
Steve Hanly 09/07/2020, 18:00:52

Jose,
This is a cool application! Thanks for sharing the details of your test setup. I think the
problem you'll have is that you are sampling WAY too slowly if you are trying to measure
acoustics or vibration. Measuring at 5 Hz and 16 Hz if mounted directly on/inside the fish
will help show the orientation change of the fish. And if on/in the fish your sensitivity
should be adequate because you'll probably be measuring the gravity vector/orientation
change more than any vibration or shock so it's looking at that 1g offset change. These
must be some big fish!?
Yogesh Shelgaonkar 29/07/2020, 04:58:30

Jose,
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I think you are using the accelerometer in an innovative way, which is Great!!!
I was more curious to know how you are reading the Accelerometer from Fish?

Are you using any Wire or Wireless technology to do that?
Appreciate if you can share someUp

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for Sensing Tips!

Best Regards,
Yogesh By signing up you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Reply to Yogesh Shelgaonkar
Michael Olukoya 29/07/2020, 14:55:22

Hi Steve,
You have a wonderful blog, I wish I found this many months ago.
I am working with a Kistler force sensor, with a specified natural frequency of 5 kHz. After
mounting, the natural frequency goes down to about 1200 Hz. I would like to use this force
sensor to capture a single stroke force signal that has a duration of about 100
microseconds. My National instrument data acquisition device is able to capture well
above this time resolution (100 kHz sampling).
But I will like to know if the natural frequency of my force sensor and its usable frequency
will be a limitation to what I can actually measure.
I will be very happy if you can clarify this for me, and will be happy to provide more details.
Regards
Reply to Michael Olukoya
Steve Hanly 29/07/2020, 15:22:15

Hi Michael,
Thank you for the kind words and great question!
If I do my math correctly the event you're trying to measure has a frequency of 5,000 Hz
(1 / 0.0002 because the 100 microseconds or 0.0001 pulse is half the full sine wave /
cycle).
That will be a problem for the kistler force sensor you're using even without mounting
because it is at the natural frequency. If you are trying to measure something at 5 kHz
you'll need a sensor that has a BANDWIDTH up to 5 kHz or ideally beyond which will
likely mean the natural frequency is somewhere greater than 50 kHz.
▲ TOP
By the way, that is fast!
I hope this helps, 

Steve

Richard K Collins 17/07/2021, 13:08:02
I see you mention temperature sensitivity. I am writing an article on gravimeters and

recommending different ones. Someone estimated their response to temperature. It can
be estimated for gravimeter arrays. Here is how I estimated it.
Relation between gravity, magnetism and temperature at the earths surface
https://theinternetfoundation.net/?p=1893
I have spent many years calibrating gravimeter arrays. I am trying to encourage the
development of three axis, time of flight gravimeter for earthquake early warning, tracking
and imaging the atmosphere (constraints on the climate models, and real time
monitoring), imaging ocean currents, imaging earth interior. But the current developers
are slow and don't have the skills to use fast ADCs, low latency raw data handling,
correlation networks and global sharing for algorithm development that is needed for that
to happen.
I cannot do everything, but I try to gather and encourage. www.GravityNotes.Org has some
of the technologies for earthquake early warning. The Japan earthquake registered as a
speed of light and gravity signal in the superconducting gravimeter network and in the
broadband seismometer network. I tried to encourage development of low cost
gravimeters for global arrays. That is at https://hackaday.io/project/164550-low-cost-time-
of-flight-gravimeter-arrays. I routinely review all the new designs and paper for big G
experiments, many "quantum" experiments that are sensitive enough to measure
accelerations in the nanometer per second squared (nm/s2) and pm/s2 range.
If there are people interested in this, I can share what I have found. The vibration sensors
are getting into the Gsps range and they can be used for coarse grained time of flight
imaging. It would be good to have them look at the whole worlds gravity, not just machine
vibrations. Most of the methods for vibration measurement are also used for gravimeters.
There are MEMS gravimeters, atom interferometer gravimeters, photon interferometer
gravimeters, atomic force gravimeters, electron interferometer gravimeters, Bose Einstein
gravimeters. I am too tired to list them all in a note.
I like your clear presentation. I added a link and these comments at ▲ TOP
Comment on Endaq Steve Hanly blog about accelerometer sensitivity
https://theinternetfoundation.net/?p=1903

Richard Collins, Director, TheSign UpFoundation
Internet for Sensing Tips!
Reply to Richard K Collins
Steve Hanly 19/07/2021, 16:30:37

Thank you for sharing Richard!
This is a cool application and another one that I had never thought of or heard about -
cool idea to use an array of gravimeters to detect a coming earth quake! Thank you very
much for sharing!
Serdar Yasar 01/02/2022, 10:22:53

Thank you very much for your extremely important and useful tips that can be found
nowhere else in this straightforward style.
I have a question that worries me.
We have a triaxial accelerometer and when we took measurements, we saw that signal
somewhere drops to a minimum value and rises gradually again. We interpreted this
behavior that maybe we exceed the limits of the sensor. Additionally, we saw generally a
ski-slope FFT graph. Is it a possibility according to your expertise or not?
Reply to Serdar Yasar
Steve Hanly 01/02/2022, 18:28:47

Great question! This is something that comes up often and I talked about in our blog on
piezoelectric accelerometers (scroll ~2/3 the way down the page):
https://blog.endaq.com/piezoelectric-accelerometers-how-they-work-and-where-to-buy
This is a behavior of piezoelectric accelerometers when their charge amplifier gets

saturated, it is followed by this logarithmic decay. Basically it happens when it saw a
shock event outside its measurement range. Both the time domain data and frequency
spectrum during that time is pretty much meaningless other than telling you
"something" happened that was significant. But you won't be able to understand much
specifically about the event. ▲ TOP
This behavior is not something that piezoresistive or DC variable capacitive MEMS


accelerometers exhibit (but piezoelectric accels are still the best for vibration with their
low noise and wide frequency bandwidth - just have to be on the lookout for these
shock events!). Sign Up for Sensing Tips!
Hope this helps!
-Steve By signing up you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
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03/02/2022, 14:49 Accelerometer Specifications: Deciphering an Accelerometer's Datasheet

Accelerometer Specifications: Deciphering an

2. Frequency Response or Bandwidth

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will specify this

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WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

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Senthil kumar 23/07/2018, 08:00:27

Steve Hanly 25/07/2018, 20:22:59

Hope this helps,

Thomas 14/09/2018, 03:01:26

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Jose Manuel Pereñíguez 09/07/2020, 09:04:52

First of all, thanks for your post.

I am a biologist, so I am not an expert on accelerometers, and that's what I wanted to

Could you give me your opinion? It is a doubt about terminology...

Steve Hanly 09/07/2020, 18:00:52

Yogesh Shelgaonkar 29/07/2020, 04:58:30

Appreciate if you can share someUp

for Sensing Tips!

Yogesh By signing up you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.

Reply to Yogesh Shelgaonkar

Michael Olukoya 29/07/2020, 14:55:22

Steve Hanly 29/07/2020, 15:22:15

Thank you for the kind words and great question!

I hope this helps, 

By signing up you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.

I see you mention temperature sensitivity. I am writing an article on gravimeters and

Relation between gravity, magnetism and temperature at the earths surface

Comment on Endaq Steve Hanly blog about accelerometer sensitivity

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Steve Hanly 19/07/2021, 16:30:37

Serdar Yasar 01/02/2022, 10:22:53

Steve Hanly 01/02/2022, 18:28:47

This is a behavior of piezoelectric accelerometers when their charge amplifier gets

This behavior is not something that piezoresistive or DC variable capacitive MEMS

Reply to Steve Hanly

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