Angular rate sensor with quadrature error compensation
First Claim
1. An angular rate sensor comprising:
- a substrate;
a drive mass flexibly coupled to said substrate, said drive mass including first and second regions separated by an axis of rotation oriented parallel to a surface of said substrate;
a sense mass suspended above said substrate and flexibly connected to said drive mass via flexible support elements, said sense mass including third and fourth regions separated by said axis of rotation, said first and third regions being laterally disposed on a first side of said axis of rotation, and said second and fourth regions being laterally disposed on a second side of said axis of rotation;
a first electrode associated with said drive mass and disposed beneath said first region; and
a second electrode associated with said sense mass and disposed beneath said fourth region, said second electrode being electrically coupled to said first electrode in reverse polarity so that a first error component between said first electrode and said drive mass substantially cancels a second error component between said second electrode and said sense mass.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An angular rate sensor (20) includes a drive mass (36) flexibly coupled to a substrate (22). A sense mass (42) is suspended above the substrate (22) is and flexibly connected to the drive mass (36) via flexible support elements (44). A quadrature compensation electrode (24) is associated with the drive mass (36) and a sense electrode (28) is associated with the sense mass (42). The drive mass (36) and the sense mass (42) oscillate together relative to a sense axis (50) in response to quadrature error. The quadrature error produces a signal error component (78) between the quadrature compensation electrode (24) and the drive mass (36) and a signal error component (76) between the sense electrode (28) and the sense mass (42). The compensation and sense electrodes (24, 28) are coupled in reverse polarity so that the signal error component (78) substantially cancels the signal error component (76).
35 Citations
8 Claims
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1. An angular rate sensor comprising:
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a substrate; a drive mass flexibly coupled to said substrate, said drive mass including first and second regions separated by an axis of rotation oriented parallel to a surface of said substrate; a sense mass suspended above said substrate and flexibly connected to said drive mass via flexible support elements, said sense mass including third and fourth regions separated by said axis of rotation, said first and third regions being laterally disposed on a first side of said axis of rotation, and said second and fourth regions being laterally disposed on a second side of said axis of rotation; a first electrode associated with said drive mass and disposed beneath said first region; and a second electrode associated with said sense mass and disposed beneath said fourth region, said second electrode being electrically coupled to said first electrode in reverse polarity so that a first error component between said first electrode and said drive mass substantially cancels a second error component between said second electrode and said sense mass. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification