1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vibrator element, a vibrator, an electronic apparatus, and a moving object.
2. Related Art
In the related art, a vibrator element disclosed in JP-A-2010-226639 is known.
In the vibrator element disclosed in JP-A-2010-226639, the appearance shape of the vibrator element is obtained by patterning a quartz crystal substrate using a photolithographic method or an etching method. Specifically, the appearance shape of a gyro element can be obtained by forming resist masks corresponding to the appearance shape on the upper surface and the lower surface of a quartz crystal substrate and performing wet etching on the quartz crystal substrate from both surfaces via the resist masks. However, in such a method, the upper and lower masks are deviated in some cases. Therefore, there is a problem that the cross-sectional shapes of vibration arms are deviated from designed shapes due to the deviation in the masks. Further, it is difficult to avoid this problem in terms of precision of a device.
In the vibrator element in which the mask deviation occurs, the cross-sectional shapes are distorted to be coupled with in-plane vibration, and thus vibration occurs even out of a plane. When such out-of-plane vibration occurs, vibration leakage or noise occurs and vibration characteristics deteriorate.
An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a vibrator element, a vibrator, an electronic apparatus, and a moving object reducing coupling of out-of-plane vibration and having excellent vibration characteristics.
The invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.
A vibrator element according to this application example includes: a base portion; and a vibration arm that is connected to the base portion and performs flexural vibration in a first direction included in an in-plane direction of the base portion. The vibration arm includes a first main surface, a second main surface having a front and rear relation with the first main surface, a first groove opened to the first main surface, and a second groove opened to the second main surface. The first main surface is disposed to be deviated on one side of the first direction from the second main surface. The first groove is disposed to be deviated on the one side of the first direction from the second groove. When L1 is a deviation quantity in the first direction at a center of the first main surface in the first direction from a center of the second main surface in the first direction and when L2 is a deviation quantity in the first direction at a center of an opening of the first groove in the first direction from a center of an opening of the second groove in the first direction, a relation of L2/L1>0 is satisfied.
With this configuration, it is possible to provide the vibrator element reducing coupling of out-of-plane vibration and having excellent vibration characteristics.
In the vibrator element according to the application example, it is preferable that the first groove is disposed to be inclined in a thickness direction of the base portion so that the opening is deviated on the one side of the first direction from a bottom surface, and the second groove is disposed to be inclined in the thickness direction of the base portion so that a bottom surface is deviated on the one side of the first direction from the opening.
With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the coupling of the out-of-plane vibration more efficiently.
A vibrator element according to this application example includes: a base portion; and a vibration arm that is connected to the base portion and performs flexural vibration in a first direction included in an in-plane direction of the base portion. The vibration arm includes a first main surface, a second main surface having a front and rear relation with the first main surface, and a groove opened to the first main surface. The first main surface is disposed on one side of the first direction to be deviated from the second main surface. The groove is disposed to be inclined in a thickness direction of the base portion so that an opening of the groove is deviated on the one side of the first direction from a bottom surface. When L1 is a deviation quantity in the first direction at a center of the first main surface in the first direction from a center of the second main surface in the first direction and when a region intersecting the second main surface by virtually extending the groove in a depth direction is a virtual opening and L2 is a deviation quantity in the first direction at a center of the opening of the groove in the first direction from a center of the virtual opening in the first direction, a relation of L2/L1>0 is satisfied.
With this configuration, it is possible to provide the vibrator element reducing coupling of out-of-plane vibration and having excellent vibration characteristics.
In the vibrator element according to the application example, it is preferable that a relation of L2/L1>2 is satisfied.
With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the coupling of the out-of-plane vibration more efficiently.
In the vibrator element according to the application example, it is preferable that a relation of L2/L1<4 is satisfied.
With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the coupling of the out-of-plane vibration more efficiently.
In the vibrator element according to the application example, it is preferable that the vibrator element is an angular velocity detection element that detects an angular velocity.
With this configuration, convenience of the vibrator element is improved.
A gyro sensor according to this application example includes: the angular velocity detection element according to the application example and a drive circuit that performs drive vibration of the angular velocity detection element or a detection circuit that detects detection vibration generated in the angular velocity detection element when an angular velocity is applied.
An electronic apparatus according to this application example includes the vibrator element according to the application example.
With this configuration, it is possible to obtain an electronic apparatus with high reliability.
A moving object according to this application example includes the vibrator element according to the application example.
With this configuration, it is possible to obtain a moving object with high reliability.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.
Hereinafter, detailed description will be made according to a method of adjusting an angular velocity detection element according to the invention.
Hereinafter, as illustrated in
A gyro element (angular velocity detection element) 1 illustrated in
The quartz crystal substrate 2 may be substituted with, for example, a substrate (piezoelectric substrate) made of any of various piezoelectric materials such as lithium niobate (LiNbO3), lithium tantalate (LiTaO3), lead zirconate titanate (PZT), lithium tetraborate (Li2B4O7), and langasite crystal (La3Ga5SiO14) for use. Here, by using the quartz crystal substrate 2, it is possible to obtain the gyro element 1 having more excellent frequency temperature characteristics than when other piezoelectric substrates are used.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The base portion 21 supports the drive arms 22 and 23 and the detection arms 24 and 25. The base portion 21 has an extension on the XY plane and is formed in the plate shape having a thickness in the Z axis direction. The gyro element 1 in the base portion 21 is fixed to an object (for example, a base 81 of a package 8 to be described below). The drive signal terminal 51, the drive grounding terminal 52, the detection signal terminal 53, and the detection grounding terminal 54 are installed on the lower surface of the base portion 21.
The one pair of drive arms 22 and 23 are installed in parallel in the X axis direction and extend from the base portion 21 to the −Y axis side. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The one pair of detection arms 24 and 25 are installed in parallel in the X axis direction and extend from the base portion 21 to the +Y axis side. As illustrated in
The gyro element 1 with such a configuration detects an angular velocity ωy as follows.
By applying an alternating voltage with a predetermined frequency between the drive signal electrode 31 and the drive grounding electrode 32 via the drive signal terminal 51 and the drive grounding terminal 52, a drive vibration mode is excited. Then, as illustrated in
The basic configuration of the gyro element 1 has been described in brief.
Next, the configurations of the drive arms 22 and 23 will be described in detail.
As illustrated in
Similarly, the drive arm 23 includes an upper surface (first main surface) 231, a lower surface (second main surface) 232 having a front and rear relation with the upper surface 231, a groove (first groove) 238 opened to the upper surface 231, and a groove (second groove) 239 opened to the lower surface 232. The upper surface 231 is disposed to be deviated from the lower surface 232 on the +X axis side (one side), and thus the drive arm 23 has a substantially parallelogrammic cross-sectional shape.
Here, there are mainly two reasons why the upper surfaces 221 and 231 are deviated from the lower surfaces 222 and 232 in the +X axis direction. The first reason is that the upper surfaces 221 and 231 are disposed to be shifted from the lower surfaces 222 and 232 in the +X axis direction from a design stage and the drive arms 22 and 23 are formed as the drive arms 22 and 23 are designed. The second reason is that the quartz crystal substrate 2 having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape so that the upper surfaces 221 and 231 and the lower surfaces 222 and 232 are not deviated is formed, but the upper surfaces 221 and 231 are deviated from the lower surfaces 222 and 232 due to manufacturing problems.
As the manufacturing problems, two main problems are considered. The first problem is, for example, deviation of upper and lower masks in a case in which the quartz crystal substrate 2 is manufactured from a quartz crystal wafer 20 by wet etching. That is, as illustrated in
When the drive arms 22 and 23 are distorted in the parallelogrammic shape due to such reasons, vibration in the Z axis direction may be coupled with vibration of the drive arms 22 and 23 in the X axis direction at the time of driving of the gyro element 1 in the drive vibration mode. Then, the detection arms 24 and 25 may vibrate in the Z axis direction in response to the vibration of the drive arms 22 and 23 in the Z axis direction. That is, even when the angular velocity ωy is not applied, a detection signal (charges) is generated from the detection arms 24 and 25. Thus, an error of the angular velocity ωy may be detected or detection precision of the angular velocity ωy may deteriorate.
Accordingly, when the gyro element 1 is driven in the drive vibration mode, the positions of the grooves 228 and 229 in the drive arm 22 and the positions of the grooves 238 and 239 in the drive arm 23 have been contrived so that the drive arms 22 and 23 do not vibrate in the Z axis direction (so that the vibration in the Z axis direction is reduced). The detailed description will be made below. Since the drive arms 22 and 23 have the same configuration, the drive arm 22 will be described below as a representative. The description of the drive arm 23 will be omitted.
As illustrated in
The relation between the deviation quantities L1 and L2 is not particularly limited as long as the relation of L2/L1>0 described above is satisfied. Further, a relation of L2/L1>2 is preferably satisfied. Accordingly, the above-described advantage is more remarkable. In this case, the groove 228 is disposed to be biased so that the width center O21 is located further on the +X axis side than the width center O11 of the upper surface 221. The groove 229 is disposed to be biased so that the width center O22 is located further on the −X axis side than the width center O12 of the lower surface 222. The upper limit of L2/L1 is not particularly limited. For example, a relation of L2/L1<4 is preferably satisfied. Such a range is a realistic upper limit. For example, the thickness of a wall 223 of the groove 228 on the +X axis side and the thickness of a wall 224 of the groove 229 on the −X axis side can be sufficiently ensured. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the above-described advantages while maintaining a mechanical strength of the drive arm 22.
Next, a second embodiment of the vibrator element according to the invention will be described.
Hereinafter, differences between the vibrator element according to the second embodiment and the vibrator element according to the above-described first embodiment will be mainly described and the same matters will not be described.
The vibrator element according to the second embodiment of the invention is the same as that according to the above-described first embodiment except that the configuration of the grooves are different. The same reference numerals are given to the same configuration as the above-described first embodiment. In the embodiment, since the drive arms 22 and 23 have the same configuration, the drive arm 22 will be described below as a representative. The description of the drive arm 23 will be omitted.
In the drive arm 22 according to the embodiment, as illustrated in
A line segment L passing through a width center of the opening 228a (229a) and a width center of the bottom surface 228b (229b) is preferably substantially parallel to a line segment L′ passing through a width center O11 of the upper surface 221 and a width center O12 of the lower surface 222. Accordingly, the above-described advantages are more remarkable.
In the second embodiment, it is also possible to obtain the same advantages as those of the above-described first embodiment.
Next, a third embodiment of the vibrator element according to the invention will be described.
Hereinafter, differences between the vibrator element according to the third embodiment and the vibrator element according to the above-described first embodiment will be mainly described and the same matters will not be described.
The vibrator element according to the third embodiment of the invention is the same as that according to the above-described first embodiment except that the configuration of the grooves are different. The same reference numerals are given to the same configuration as the above-described first embodiment. In the embodiment, since the drive arms 22 and 23 have the same configuration, the drive arm 22 will be described below as a representative. The description of the drive arm 23 will be omitted.
In the gyro element 1 according to the embodiment, as illustrated in
At this time, when L1 is a deviation quantity of the width center O11 of the upper surface 221 on the +X axis side from the width center O12 of the lower surface 222 and L2 is a deviation quantity of the width center O21 of the opening 228a on the +X axis side from the width center O23 of the virtual opening 228c, L1 and L2 satisfy a relation of L2/L1>0. By satisfying such a relation, it is possible to reduce the vibration quantity of the drive arm 22 in the Z axis direction by the same reasons as those of the above-described first embodiment.
The relation of the deviation quantities L1 and L2 is not particularly limited as long as the relation of L2/L1>0 is satisfied, as described above. A relation of L2/L1>2 is preferably satisfied. Accordingly, the above-described advantages are more remarkable. The upper limit of L2/L1 is not particularly limited. For example, a relation of L2/L1<4 is preferably satisfied. Such a range is a realistic upper limit. For example, the thickness of the wall 223 of the groove 228 on the +X axis side can be sufficiently ensured. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the above-described advantages while maintaining a mechanical strength of the drive arm 22.
In the third embodiment, it is also possible to obtain the same advantages as those of the above-described first embodiment.
Vibrator
Next, a vibrator 10 including the gyro element 1 above described will be described.
The vibrator 10 illustrated in
The package 8 includes a box-shaped base 81 that includes a concave portion 811 and a plate-shaped lid 82 that blocks an opening of the concave portion 811 and is joined to the base 81. The gyro element 1 is accommodated in an accommodation space formed in such a manner that the concave portion 811 is blocked by the lid 82. The accommodation space is in a depressurized (vacuum) state. Connection terminals 831, 832, 833, and 834 are formed on the bottom surface of the concave portion 811. The connection terminals 831 to 834 are drawn to the lower surface of the base 81 by internal wirings (not illustrated) formed in the base 81.
The gyro element 1 is fixed to the bottom surface of the concave portion 811 via conductive adhesives 861, 862, 863, and 864 in the base portion 21. The drive signal terminal 51 is electrically connected to the connection terminal 831 via the conducive adhesive 861, the drive grounding terminal 52 is electrically connected to the connection terminal 832 via the conductive adhesive 862, the detection signal terminal 53 is electrically connected to the connection terminal 833 via the conductive adhesive 863, and the detection grounding terminal 54 is electrically connected to the connection terminal 834 via the conductive adhesive 864. The conductive adhesives 861 to 864 are not particularly limited as long as the conductive adhesives have conductivity and adhesion. For example, an adhesive in which conductive fillers such as silver particles are dispersed in a silicon-based, epoxy-based, acrylic-based, polyimide-based, or bismaleimide-based adhesive can be used.
Gyro Sensor
Next, a gyro sensor including the gyro element 1 will be described.
A gyro sensor 100 illustrated in
In the embodiment, the IC chip 9 is installed inside the package 8, but the IC chip 9 may be installed outside of the package 8.
Electronic Apparatus
Next, an electronic apparatus including the gyro element 1 will be described.
In
In
A display unit 1310 is installed on the rear surface of a case (body) 1302 of the digital still camera 1300 to perform display based on the imaging signal generated by the CCD. The display unit 1310 functions as a finder that displays a subject as an electronic image. A light-receiving unit 1304 including an optical lens (imaging optical system) or a CCD is installed on the front surface side (the rear surface side of the drawing) of the case 1302. When a photographer confirms a subject image displayed on the display unit 1310 and presses a shutter button 1306, an imaging signal of the CCD at that time is transmitted and stored in a memory 1308. In the digital still camera 1300, the gyro element 1 functioning as an angular velocity detection unit (gyro sensor) is included.
Since the foregoing electronic apparatus includes the gyro element 1, high reliability can be obtained.
The electronic apparatus according to the invention can be applied not only to the personal computer (mobile personal computer) in
Moving Object
Next, a moving object including the gyro element 1 illustrated in
An automobile 1500 includes the gyro element 1 that functions as an angular velocity detection unit (gyro sensor). A posture of a body 1501 can be detected by the gyro element 1. A detection signal of the gyro element 1 is supplied to a body posture control device 1502. The body posture control device 1502 can detect a posture of the body 1501 based on the signal, and can control hardness and softness of a suspension according to a detection result or control of a brake of individual wheels 1503. In addition, the posture control can be used for a bipedal walking robot or a radio controlled helicopter. As described above, posture control of various moving objects is realized by embedding the gyro element 1.
The vibrator element, the vibrator, the electronic apparatus, and the moving object according to the invention have been described according to the illustrated embodiments, but the invention is not limited thereto. The configuration of each unit can be substituted with any configuration having the same function. Other any constituents may be added to the invention. The invention may be implemented by combining any two or more of the configurations (features) in the above-described embodiments.
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-076035, filed Apr. 2, 2015 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2015-076035 | Apr 2015 | JP | national |
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Entry |
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Translation of JP 2010-226639. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20160290802 A1 | Oct 2016 | US |