Title :
Micromachined accelerometer based on convection heat transfer
Author :
Leung, A.M. ; Jones, J. ; Czyzewska, E. ; Chen, J. ; Woods, B.
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Eng. Sci., Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby, BC, Canada
Abstract :
A micromachined thermal accelerometer that is simple, reliable, and inexpensive to make has been developed at Simon Fraser University. The operating principle of this accelerometer is based on the free-convection heat transfer of a small hot air bubble in a sealed chamber. An experimental device that requires only four masking steps to fabricate has been built. This device has demonstrated a 0.6 milli-g sensitivity that can theoretically be extended to sub-micro-g level: A 2-axis accelerometer based on the same operating principle has also been fabricated and tested
Keywords :
accelerometers; bubbles; convection; micromachining; microsensors; semiconductor technology; temperature sensors; 2-axis accelerometer; Si; Simon Fraser University; convection heat transfer; free-convection heat transfer; hot air bubble; micromachined accelerometer; sealed chamber; sub-micro-g level; Acceleration; Accelerometers; Bridges; Capacitance measurement; Heat transfer; Packaging; Silicon; Springs; Temperature measurement; Temperature sensors;
Conference_Titel :
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 1998. MEMS 98. Proceedings., The Eleventh Annual International Workshop on
Conference_Location :
Heidelberg
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4412-X
DOI :
10.1109/MEMSYS.1998.659830
