No abstract

This letter describes an implementation of micromachined accelerometers in standard complimentary metal–oxide–semiconductor technology. The devices operate based on heat convection and consist of microheaters and thermocouple or thermistor temperature sensors separated by a gap which measure temperature difference between two sides of the microheater caused by the effect of acceleration on free gas convection. The devices show a small linearity error of <0.5% under tilt conditions (±90°), and <2% under acceleration to 7g(g≡9.81 m/s2). Sensitivity of the devices is a nearly linear function of heater power. For operating power of ∼ 100 mW, a sensitivity of 115 μV/g was measured for thermopile configuration and 25 μV/g for thermistor configurations. Both types of devices are operable up to frequencies of several hundred Hz.

No abstract

No abstract

This paper describes a CMOS implementation of novel accelerometers that operate based on heat convection, requiring no solid proof mass. The devices consist of microheaters and thermocouple or thermistor temperature sensors separated by a gap and placed in differential or bridge configurations. Temperature sensors measure the temperature difference between the two sides of the microheater caused by the effect of acceleration on free convection in the surrounding gas. The devices show a small linearity error of < 0.5% under tilt conditions from −90 to 90 degrees, and < 2% under acceleration from 0 g to 7 g. Sensitivity of the devices is also a nearly linear function of heater power (temperature). Sensitivity of up to 115 μV/g was measured for thermopile configuration, and up to 185 μV/g for thermistor configuration. Both types of devices are operable up to frequencies of several hundred hertz.