Abstract

The measurement of Earth's gravity field from space has revolutionized climate monitoring, hydrology, oceanography, and geohazard assessment, as demonstrated by missions such as GRACE and GRACE-FO. However, conventional electrostatic accelerometers remain bulky, power-hungry, and prone to drift, limiting deployment on cost-effective small satellite constellations.

This work introduces G.L.I.D.E, a novel Nano-Electro-Mechanical System (NEMS) gravimeter based on a suspended graphene membrane acting as the movable plate in a capacitive transducer, integrated with a micro-scale silicon proof mass. Leveraging graphene's exceptional properties — atomic thickness (0.34 nm), high Young's modulus and superior mechanical strength (130 GPa) — the device achieves ultra-high sensitivity to minute accelerations targeting nano-Gal resolution with near-zero drift, sub-milligram mass, and microwatt-level power consumption.

In the capacitive configuration, gravitational or inertial forces displace the proof mass, modulating the gap between the graphene membrane and fixed electrodes, resulting in measurable capacitance changes. The compact, chip-scale design enables integration into CubeSats or nano-satellites, facilitating dense orbital constellations for high-resolution gravity mapping at a fraction of traditional mission costs.