Claims
- 1. An angular accelerometric transducer comprising:
- a mass of silicon;
- a first void selectively etched into said mass of silicon to form a frame thereabout;
- a first plurality of flexible linkages each having a first end attached to said frame and a second end extending outwardly therefrom above said first void;
- a first plate, attached to said second end of said first plurality of flexible linkages and being disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to said first plurality of flexible linkages, said first plate being substantially uniform and balanced about said first plurality of flexible linkages and having a first plate input axis coaxial with said first plurality of flexible linkages;
- a second void selectively etched into said mass of silicon proximate to said first void to form a second frame thereabout;
- a second plurality of flexible linkages each having a top surface and a first end attached to said second frame and a second end extending outwardly therefrom above said second void; and
- a second plate attached to said second end of said second plurality of flexible linkages, said second plate being unbalanced about said second plurality of flexible linkages and having a second plate input axis substantially perpendicular with respect to said top surface of said second plurality of flexible linkages;
- wherein said first plate is responsive to angular acceleration and said second plate is responsive to linear acceleration.
- 2. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 1 further including processing circuitry receiving a first signal indicative of angular acceleration imposed on said first plate and a second signal indicative of linear acceleration imposed on said second plate, said processing circuitry correcting said first signal in accordance with said second signal.
- 3. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 1 wherein said first plurality of flexible linkages comprises two opposed linkages on opposite sides of said first plate.
- 4. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 1 wherein said second plurality of flexible linkages comprises two opposed linkages on opposite sides of said second plate.
- 5. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 1 wherein said first plate is substantially rectangular.
- 6. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 1 wherein said second plate is substantially rectangular.
- 7. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 1 wherein said second plate is substantially rectangular and includes a weight asymmetrically disposed thereon with respect to said second plurality of flexible linkages.
- 8. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 1 further comprising a metal film deposited on said first plate, wherein said metal film is trimmable to effect balancing of said first plate.
- 9. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 1 further including a buffer amplifier.
- 10. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 9 wherein said first plate, said second plate and said buffer amplifier are fabricated in a single mass of silicon.
- 11. The angular accelerometric transducer of claim 10 wherein said first plate, said second plate and said buffer amplifier are fabricated in said single mass of silicon using a single processing methodology.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 07/904,211, filed Jun. 25, 1992, entitled MONOLITHIC MICROMECHANICAL ACCELEROMETER now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/528,051, filed May 23, 1990, entitled MONOLITHIC MICROMECHANICAL ACCELEROMETER, Issued Jun. 30, 1992 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,812, which is a continuation-in-part of commonly assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 07/479,854, filed Feb. 14, 1990, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEMICONDUCTOR CHIP TRANSDUCER issued Mar. 23, 1993 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,371.
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Continuation in Parts (3)
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Date |
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Parent |
904211 |
Jun 1992 |
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Parent |
528051 |
May 1990 |
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Parent |
479854 |
Feb 1990 |
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