A precision yaw rate sensor in silicon micromachining
- Resource Type
- Conference
- Authors
- Lutz, M.; Golderer, W.; Gerstenmeier, J.; Marek, J.; Maihofer, B.; Mahler, S.; Munzel, H.; Bischof, U.
- Source
- Proceedings of International Solid State Sensors and Actuators Conference (Transducers '97) Solid-state sensors and actuators Solid State Sensors and Actuators, 1997. TRANSDUCERS '97 Chicago., 1997 International Conference on. 2:847-850 vol.2 1997
- Subject
- Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
Robotics and Control Systems
Signal Processing and Analysis
Silicon
Micromachining
Packaging
Mass production
Signal design
Accelerometers
Force sensors
Mechanical sensors
Sensor phenomena and characterization
Dry etching
- Language
A new generation of production-ready yaw rate sensor, based on silicon micromachining, is presented. The sensor is designed for mass production and high performance applications. A combination of surface and bulk micromachining leads to an advantage in design, signal evaluation and packaging. This paper discusses the design of the sensing element: two bulk micromachined oscillating masses each of which supports two surface micromachined accelerometers for detection of the Coriolis force. Mechanical balancing of the sensor is avoided by implementation of a new dry etching process and precise photolithography. The electrodynamic actuation and high Q-value of the oscillator allow packaging at atmospheric pressure. Characterization results of the device are presented.