Micro-electro-opto-mechanical inertial sensor
First Claim
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1. The micro electromechanical optical inertial sensing device of the present invention comprisesa CMOS chip comprising at least one integrated photodiode and analog electronics;
- an elastically suspended proof mass, hybridically attached to said CMOS chip, over the chip, a specified light source, directing a light beam at the suspended proof mass, on the side facing away from the CMOS chip, thus casting a partial shadow over said photodiode, when the suspended proof mass is at rest;
signal processing circuit for the on chip processing of the photodiode output signal; and
mechanical and electrical connecting means, to join the proof mass component with the CMOS chip component;
wherein said photodiode is positioned substantially along the imaginary coaxis of the assumed measured movement and said proof mass, said photodiode being electrically connected to the processing means, wherein when the device is subjected to an inertial movement, the suspended proof mass swings, thus causing the partial shadow casted on the photodiode to shift, and modulate the light beam illumination on the CMOS integrated photodiode, generating subsequent output current signal transmitted to and processed by analog electronics processing means, to produce meaningful measurement results, or to generate electronic signals to other systems.
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Abstract
A micro-electromechanical optical inertial sensing device comprises a CMOS chip (3), comprising at least one integrated photodiode (6) and analog electronics; an elastically suspended proof mass (1); and a light source (4). A light beam from the light source casts a partial shadow of the proof mass over the photodiode when the proof mass is at rest. When subjected to an inertial movement, the proof mass swings causing the partial shadow to shift and modulate the illumination of the photodiode. An output current signal from the photodiode is processed by the analog electronics to generate measurement results.
63 Citations
20 Claims
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1. The micro electromechanical optical inertial sensing device of the present invention comprises
a CMOS chip comprising at least one integrated photodiode and analog electronics; -
an elastically suspended proof mass, hybridically attached to said CMOS chip, over the chip, a specified light source, directing a light beam at the suspended proof mass, on the side facing away from the CMOS chip, thus casting a partial shadow over said photodiode, when the suspended proof mass is at rest;
signal processing circuit for the on chip processing of the photodiode output signal; and
mechanical and electrical connecting means, to join the proof mass component with the CMOS chip component;
wherein said photodiode is positioned substantially along the imaginary coaxis of the assumed measured movement and said proof mass, said photodiode being electrically connected to the processing means, wherein when the device is subjected to an inertial movement, the suspended proof mass swings, thus causing the partial shadow casted on the photodiode to shift, and modulate the light beam illumination on the CMOS integrated photodiode, generating subsequent output current signal transmitted to and processed by analog electronics processing means, to produce meaningful measurement results, or to generate electronic signals to other systems. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Current AssigneeRafael - Armament Development Authority Ltd.
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Original AssigneeRafael - Armament Development Authority Ltd., TECHNION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, LTD.
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InventorsSocher, Eran, Netzer, Ehud, Kaldor, Shmuel, Degani, Ofir, Nemirovsky, Yael, Seter, Dan
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Primary Examiner(s)Lee, John R.
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Application NumberUS09/381,082Time in Patent Office585 DaysField of Search250/231.1, 250/229, 250/222.1, 250/221, 250/214.R, 250/214.1, 250/216, 257/414, 257/415, 257/435, 257/431, 735/140.1, 735/140.2, 735/141.4, 735/141.5, 735/141.6, 735/141.8, 735/141.9, 735/142.1, 735/142.4, 735/142.6, 735/142.9, 735/143.8, 736/51, 736/52, 736/53US Class Current250/231.1CPC Class CodesG01C 19/5656 the devices involving a mic...G01P 15/093 by photoelectric pick-up
