What is the natural frequency of an accelerometer?
The natural frequency of an accelerometer is the frequency where the ratio of output is at it highest. The natural frequency of an accelerometer is defined by the equation: From a frequency roughly 1/3 to 1/2 of the natural frequency the ratio of output to input becomes non-linear and therefore makes measurements from this region difficult to interpret. Therefore the higher the natural frequency of an accelerometer the higher frequencies where the output to input is linear and the higher the frequencies that can be measured. It can be seen from the formula for natural frequency that to increase the natural frequency the mass needs to be as small as possible and the stiffness needs to be as high as possible. A small mass usually means a lower sensitivity and this is true of most high frequency accelerometers.
