Micromachined piezoelectric three-axis gyroscope and stacked lateral overlap transducer (slot) based three-axis accelerometer
First Claim
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a substrate extending substantially in a first plane;
a first plurality of electrodes formed substantially along a first axis on the substrate;
a second plurality of electrodes formed substantially along a second axis on the substrate;
a first anchor attached to the substrate;
a frame attached to the first anchor and extending substantially in a second plane, the frame being substantially constrained for motion along the second axis; and
a first proof mass attached to the frame and extending substantially in the second plane, the first proof mass having a first plurality of slots extending along the first axis and a second plurality of slots extending along the second axis, the first proof mass being substantially constrained for motion along the first axis and along the second axis,wherein a lateral movement of the first proof mass in response to an applied lateral acceleration along the first axis results in a first change in capacitance at the second plurality of electrodes, andwherein a lateral movement of the first proof mass in response to an applied lateral acceleration along the second axis results in a second change in capacitance at the first plurality of electrodes.
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Abstract
This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for making and using x-axis gyroscopes, y-axis gyroscopes, z-axis gyroscopes, two-axis accelerometers and three-axis accelerometers. Combining fabrication processes for such devices can enable the monolithic integration of six inertial sensing axes on a single substrate, such as a single glass substrate. Such devices may be included in a mobile device, such as a mobile display device.
51 Citations
50 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a substrate extending substantially in a first plane; a first plurality of electrodes formed substantially along a first axis on the substrate; a second plurality of electrodes formed substantially along a second axis on the substrate; a first anchor attached to the substrate; a frame attached to the first anchor and extending substantially in a second plane, the frame being substantially constrained for motion along the second axis; and a first proof mass attached to the frame and extending substantially in the second plane, the first proof mass having a first plurality of slots extending along the first axis and a second plurality of slots extending along the second axis, the first proof mass being substantially constrained for motion along the first axis and along the second axis, wherein a lateral movement of the first proof mass in response to an applied lateral acceleration along the first axis results in a first change in capacitance at the second plurality of electrodes, and wherein a lateral movement of the first proof mass in response to an applied lateral acceleration along the second axis results in a second change in capacitance at the first plurality of electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. An apparatus, comprising:
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substrate means extending substantially in a first plane; a first plurality of electrode means formed substantially along a first axis on the substrate means; a second plurality of electrode means formed substantially along a second axis on the substrate means; first anchor means attached to the substrate means; frame means attached to the first anchor means and extending substantially in a second plane, the frame means being substantially constrained for motion along the second axis; and first proof mass means for responding to an applied lateral acceleration along the first axis by causing in a first change in capacitance at the second plurality of electrode means, and for responding to an applied lateral acceleration along the second axis by causing in a second change in capacitance at the first plurality of electrode means, the first proof mass means being attached to the frame means and extending substantially in the second plane, the first proof mass means having a first plurality of slots extending along the first axis and a second plurality of slots extending along the second axis, the first proof mass means being substantially constrained for motion along the first axis and along the second axis. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A method, comprising:
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forming the following on a substrate that extends substantially in a first plane; a first plurality of electrodes substantially along a first axis; a second plurality of electrodes substantially along a second axis; and a first anchor; forming a frame and a first proof mass that extend substantially in a second plane, wherein the process of forming the first proof mass includes; forming a first plurality of slots in the first proof mass that extend substantially along the first axis; and forming a second plurality of slots in the first proof mass that extend substantially along the second axis, and wherein the process of forming the frame involves; forming first flexures that are configured for attaching the first proof mass to the frame and for allowing the first proof mass to move substantially along the first axis without causing the frame to move along the first axis; and forming second flexures that are configured for attaching the frame to the first anchor, for substantially constraining the frame for motion along the second axis and for allowing the first proof mass and the frame to move together along the second axis. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification