STACKED LATERAL OVERLAP TRANSDUCER (SLOT) BASED THREE-AXIS ACCELEROMETER

• Main Authors: STEPHANOU, PHILIP, JASON, BURNS, DAVID, WILLIAM, SHENOY, RAVINDRA, VAMAN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 13.07.2016
• Subjects: ELECTRICITY; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; INDICATING PRESENCE, ABSENCE, OR DIRECTION, OF MOVEMENT; MEASURING; MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; MEASURING LINEAR OR ANGULAR SPEED, ACCELERATION, DECELERATION,OR SHOCK; NAVIGATION; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY; PHYSICS; SURVEYING; TESTING

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for making and using accelerometers. Some such accelerometers include a substrate, a first plurality of electrodes, a second plurality of electrodes, a first anchor attached to the substrate, a frame and a proof mass. The substrate may extend substantially in a first plane. The proof mass may be attached to the frame, may extend substantially in a second plane and may be substantially constrained for motion along first and second axes. The frame may be attached to the first anchor, may extend substantially in a second plane and may be substantially constrained for motion along the second axis. A lateral movement of the proof mass in response to an applied lateral acceleration along the first or second axes may result in a change in capacitance at the first or second plurality of electrodes.