A highly symmetrical capacitive micro-accelerometer with single degree-of-freedom response
- 1 June 1992
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
- Vol. 2 (2) , 104-112
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/2/2/006
Abstract
A high-performance acceleration sensor concept is presented, which combines multiple wafer bonding and differential capacitance measurement into a fully symmetrical design. The main device characteristics are an exclusive response to a translational acceleration component in a single axis, a maximized sensitivity for a given chip area and a substantially improved linearity by suppression of error sources as fringing fields, stray capacitances, leakage resistances and electrostatic pressure. Modifiable damping characteristics and hence adjustable bandwidth is an additional device feature. The general concept, the main design considerations, the fabrication procedure and the performance of this new solid state acceleration sensor are discussed. The particular problem of gas flow damping at low pressures is addressed via SPICE simulation of electrical equivalent networks. Damping-relate distortion effects on dynamic range and bandwidth are demonstrated quantitatively.Keywords
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