Silicon accelerometer with new thermal self-test mechanism

The authors present the first example of a thermal actuator integrated with a high performance acceleration sensor. In contrast to some previous electrostatic actuation schemes, the thermal actuator provides full-scale self-test capability at low voltage levels which are readily available in automotive airbag systems. No other performance aspects of the sensor itself are compromised by the addition of the actuation structure and mechanism. Although designed originally for automotive crash detection applications, this thermal actuation mechanism can be applied to many other devices, including low G acceleration sensors, pressure sensors, micro-valves, and other micro-actuators.<>