MEMS DEVICE WITH CAPACITANCE ENHANCEMENT ON QUADRATURE COMPENSATION ELECTRODE
First Claim
1. A MEMS device for capacitance enhancement comprising:
- a fixed electrode coupled to a substrate and lengthwise oriented in a first direction;
a movable electrode coupled to and extending from a movable mass system, said movable electrode being lengthwise oriented in said first direction, said movable electrode being spaced apart from said fixed electrode by a gap in a second direction that is perpendicular to said first direction; and
an extrusion region extending in said second direction from one of said fixed and movable electrodes toward the other of said fixed and movable electrodes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A MEMS device includes a mass system capable of undergoing oscillatory drive motion along a drive axis and oscillatory sense motion along a sense axis perpendicular to the drive axis. A quadrature correction unit includes a fixed electrode and a movable electrode coupled to the movable mass system, each being lengthwise oriented along the drive axis. The movable electrode is spaced apart from the fixed electrode by a gap having an initial width. At least one of the fixed and movable electrodes includes an extrusion region extending toward the other of the fixed and movable electrodes. The movable electrode undergoes oscillatory motion with the mass system such that the extrusion region is periodically spaced apart from the other of the fixed and movable electrodes by a gap exhibiting a second width that is less than the first width thereby enabling capacitance enhancement between the electrodes.
7 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A MEMS device for capacitance enhancement comprising:
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a fixed electrode coupled to a substrate and lengthwise oriented in a first direction; a movable electrode coupled to and extending from a movable mass system, said movable electrode being lengthwise oriented in said first direction, said movable electrode being spaced apart from said fixed electrode by a gap in a second direction that is perpendicular to said first direction; and an extrusion region extending in said second direction from one of said fixed and movable electrodes toward the other of said fixed and movable electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A MEMS device comprising:
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a mass system flexibly coupled to a substrate, said mass system being configured to undergo oscillatory drive motion relative to a drive axis and said mass system being further configured to undergo oscillatory sense motion relative to a sense axis that is perpendicular to said drive axis in response to an angular velocity about an input axis that is perpendicular to each of said drive and sense axes; and a quadrature correction unit including; a fixed electrode coupled to said substrate and lengthwise oriented in a first direction that is substantially parallel to said drive axis; a movable electrode coupled to and extending from said mass system, said movable electrode being lengthwise oriented in said first direction, said movable electrode being spaced apart from said fixed electrode in a second direction parallel to said sense axis by a first gap exhibiting a first width; a first extrusion region extending in said second direction from said fixed electrode toward said movable electrode; and a second extrusion region extending in said second direction from said movable electrode toward said fixed electrode, wherein said movable electrode is configured to undergo said oscillatory drive motion with said mass system such that said first extrusion region is periodically spaced apart from said movable electrode by a second gap exhibiting a second width, and said second extrusion region is periodically spaced apart from said fixed electrode by a third gap exhibiting said second width, said second width being less than said first width. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An angular rate sensor comprising:
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a mass system flexibly coupled to a substrate, said mass system being configured to undergo oscillatory drive motion relative to a drive axis and said mass system being further configured to undergo oscillatory sense motion relative to a sense axis that is perpendicular to said drive axis in response to an angular velocity about an input axis that is perpendicular to each of said drive and sense axes; and a quadrature correction unit including; a fixed electrode coupled to said substrate and lengthwise oriented in a first direction that is substantially parallel to said drive axis; a movable electrode coupled to and extending from said mass system, said movable electrode being lengthwise oriented in said first direction, said movable electrode being spaced apart from said fixed electrode in a second direction parallel to said sense axis by a first gap exhibiting a first width; and an extrusion region extending in said second direction from one of said fixed and movable electrodes toward the other of said fixed and movable electrodes, wherein; said extrusion region is not positioned between said movable electrodes when said mass system is not undergoing said oscillatory drive motion; said movable electrode is configured to undergo said oscillatory drive motion with said mass system such that said extrusion region is periodically spaced apart from the other of said fixed and movable electrodes by a second gap exhibiting a second width, said second width being less than said first width; said movable electrode moves a distance during a first half period of said oscillatory drive motion in accordance with a drive amplitude of said oscillatory drive motion; and said extrusion region exhibits a length in said first direction that is greater than said distance. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification