MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SENSOR WITH IMPROVED MECHANICAL DECOUPLING OF SENSING AND DRIVING MODES
First Claim
1. An integrated microelectromechanical structure, comprising:
- a substrate;
a driving mass designed to be moved with a rotary motion about an axis of rotation and having a central aperture;
a first anchorage arrangement positioned in the central aperture and structured to anchor the driving mass to the substrate;
a first opening provided within said driving mass;
a first sensing mass of a first type arranged inside said first opening;
first elastic supporting elements connecting said first sensing mass to said driving mass such that the first sensing mass performs a first detection movement in the presence of a first external stress;
a second anchorage arrangement positioned externally of said driving mass and coupled to a first side of the driving mass;
a third anchorage arrangement positioned externally of said driving mass and coupled to a second side of the driving mass, the second side being opposite to the first side;
wherein said first elastic supporting elements and said first, second and third anchorage arrangements are so configured that said driving mass is fixed to said first sensing mass of the first type in said rotary motion, and is decoupled therefrom in said detection movement.
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Abstract
A driving mass of an integrated microelectromechanical structure is moved with a rotary motion about an axis of rotation, and a sensing mass is connected to the driving mass via elastic supporting elements so as to perform a detection movement in the presence of an external stress. The driving mass is anchored to a first anchorage arranged along the axis of rotation by first elastic anchorage elements. The driving mass is also coupled to a pair of further anchorages positioned externally thereof and coupled to opposite sides with respect to the first anchorage by further elastic anchorage elements; the elastic supporting elements and the first and further elastic anchorage elements render the driving mass fixed to the first sensing mass in the rotary motion, and substantially decoupled from the sensing mass in the detection movement, the detection movement being a rotation about an axis lying in a plane.
119 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An integrated microelectromechanical structure, comprising:
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a substrate; a driving mass designed to be moved with a rotary motion about an axis of rotation and having a central aperture; a first anchorage arrangement positioned in the central aperture and structured to anchor the driving mass to the substrate; a first opening provided within said driving mass; a first sensing mass of a first type arranged inside said first opening; first elastic supporting elements connecting said first sensing mass to said driving mass such that the first sensing mass performs a first detection movement in the presence of a first external stress; a second anchorage arrangement positioned externally of said driving mass and coupled to a first side of the driving mass; a third anchorage arrangement positioned externally of said driving mass and coupled to a second side of the driving mass, the second side being opposite to the first side; wherein said first elastic supporting elements and said first, second and third anchorage arrangements are so configured that said driving mass is fixed to said first sensing mass of the first type in said rotary motion, and is decoupled therefrom in said detection movement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A sensor device comprising:
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a microelectromechanical structure including; a driving mass designed to be moved with a rotary motion about an axis of rotation; a first anchorage positioned along said axis of rotation; first elastic anchorage elements anchoring said driving mass to said first anchorage; a first opening provided within said driving mass; a sensing mass arranged inside said first opening; first elastic supporting elements connecting said sensing mass to said driving mass such that said sensing mass performs a detection movement in the presence of an external stress; a second anchorage positioned externally of said driving mass; and a second elastic anchorage element coupling an external side of the driving mass to said second anchorage; wherein said first elastic supporting elements and said first and second elastic anchorage elements are so configured that said sensing mass is fixed to said driving mass in said rotary motion, and is substantially decoupled from said driving mass in said detection movement. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A microelectromechanical device comprising:
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a first anchorage; first elastic anchorage elements; a driving mass operable to move in a rotary motion about an axis of rotation, the driving mass being anchored via the first elastic anchorage elements to the first anchorage positioned along the axis of rotation and the driving mass substantially extending in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation; a first opening disposed within the driving mass; first elastic supporting elements; a first sensing mass of a first type disposed within the first opening and coupled to the driving mass via the first elastic supporting elements to allow for a detection movement in response to an external stress, the first detection movement being a rotational movement outside the plane about an axis lying in the plane; a pair of further anchorages positioned externally of the driving mass and coupled to opposite sides of said driving mass with respect to the first anchorage by further elastic anchorage elements; the first elastic supporting elements and the first and further elastic anchorage elements being configured to fix the first sensing mass to the driving mass during said rotary motion, and wherein the first and further elastic anchorage elements are configured to prevent said driving mass from undergoing said rotational movement outside the plane in response to said external stress. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification