Title :
A new z-axis capacitive accelerometer with high impact durability
Author :
Hirata, Y. ; Konno, N. ; Tokunaga, T. ; Tsugai, M. ; Fukumoto, H.
Author_Institution :
Adv. Technol. R&D Center, Mitsubishi Electr. Corp., Amagasaki, Japan
Abstract :
This paper reports a newly developed z-axis capacitive accelerometer with high durability to impacts. Our accelerometer has a unique sensing mechanism by which the displacement of an inertial mass caused by an acceleration in the z-axis direction is converted into the rotational displacement of a pair of detection plates. Our accelerometer has a high degree of design freedom in terms of selecting the resonant frequency and sensitivity. While maintaining a constant sensitivity, the resonance frequency and etching hole within the detection plate were designed so as to have an appropriate damping effect. As a result, it achieved an output saturation level higher than 5000 G under the impact acceleration of 5 kHz.
Keywords :
accelerometers; capacitive sensors; damping; durability; impact (mechanical); constant sensitivity; damping effect; detection plates; etching hole; high impact durability; inertial mass displacement; resonant frequency; rotational displacement; z-axis capacitive accelerometer; Acceleration; Accelerometers; Capacitance; Damping; Electrodes; Equations; Mechanical sensors; Particle beams; Resonant frequency; Sensor phenomena and characterization; Accelerometer; capacitive; damping effect; surface micromachining;
Conference_Titel :
Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Conference, 2009. TRANSDUCERS 2009. International
Conference_Location :
Denver, CO
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4190-7
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4193-8
DOI :
10.1109/SENSOR.2009.5285908
