High sensitivity microelectromechanical sensor with rotary driving motion
First Claim
1. An integrated microelectromechanical structure, comprising:
- a driving mass designed to be moved with a rotary motion about an axis of rotation;
an anchorage arranged along said axis of rotation;
elastic anchorage elements anchoring said driving mass to said anchorage;
a first opening provided within said driving mass;
a first sensing mass arranged inside said first opening; and
elastic supporting elements connecting the first sensing mass to said driving mass such that the first sensing mass performs a detection movement in the presence of a first external stress, said elastic supporting elements and said elastic anchorage elements being so configured that said first sensing mass is fixed to said driving mass in said rotary motion, and is substantially decoupled from said driving mass in said detection movement;
wherein said elastic supporting elements define a rotation axis for said sensing mass during said detection movement; and
wherein said sensing mass has a shape so configured to have a centroid that is positioned at a distance farther away from said rotation axis than a centroid of any rectangular-shaped sensing mass inscribable in said driving mass and rotatable about said rotation axis.
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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 an anchorage arranged along the axis of rotation by elastic anchorage elements. An opening is provided within the driving mass and the sensing mass is arranged within the opening. The elastic supporting and anchorage elements render the sensing mass fixed to the driving mass in the rotary motion, and substantially decoupled from the driving mass in the detection movement. The detection movement is a rotation about an axis lying in a plane. The sensing mass has, in plan view, a non-rectangular shape; in particular, the sensing mass has a radial geometry and, in plan view, the overall shape of a radial annulus sector.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An integrated microelectromechanical structure, comprising:
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a driving mass designed to be moved with a rotary motion about an axis of rotation; an anchorage arranged along said axis of rotation; elastic anchorage elements anchoring said driving mass to said anchorage; a first opening provided within said driving mass; a first sensing mass arranged inside said first opening; and elastic supporting elements connecting the first sensing mass to said driving mass such that the first sensing mass performs a detection movement in the presence of a first external stress, said elastic supporting elements and said elastic anchorage elements being so configured that said first sensing mass is fixed to said driving mass in said rotary motion, and is substantially decoupled from said driving mass in said detection movement; wherein said elastic supporting elements define a rotation axis for said sensing mass during said detection movement; and
wherein said sensing mass has a shape so configured to have a centroid that is positioned at a distance farther away from said rotation axis than a centroid of any rectangular-shaped sensing mass inscribable in said driving mass and rotatable about said rotation axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A microelectromechanical sensor device, comprising:
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a driving mass designed to be moved with a rotary motion about an axis of rotation; an anchorage arranged along said axis of rotation; elastic anchorage elements anchoring said driving mass to said anchorage; a first opening provided within said driving mass; a first sensing mass arranged inside said first opening; and elastic supporting elements connecting the first sensing mass to said driving mass such that the first sensing mass performs a detection movement in the presence of a first external stress, said elastic supporting elements and said elastic anchorage elements being so configured that said first sensing mass is fixed to said driving mass in said rotary motion, and is substantially decoupled from said driving mass in said detection movement; wherein said sensing mass has, in plan view, a non-rectangular shape. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 23)
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22. A microelectromechanical gyroscope comprising:
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an anchorage; 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 elastic anchorage elements to the anchorage, the anchorage being arranged 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; elastic supporting elements; a first sensing mass disposed within the first opening and coupled to the driving mass via the elastic supporting elements to allow for a detection movement in response to an external stress, the elastic supporting elements and the elastic anchorage elements being configured to fix the sensing mass to the driving mass, and wherein the elastic anchorage elements are substantially decoupled from the driving mass during the first detection movement, and the first detection movement is a rotational movement about a rotation axis lying in the plane; wherein said sensing mass has a radial geometry and, in plan view, the overall shape of a radial annulus sector.
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Specification