Micro-electro-mechanical systems ultra-sensitive accelerometer
US6581465B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 14, 2001 |
| Grant date | Jun 24, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 3, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01C19/56
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An accelerometer is based upon the monolithic integration of a Fabry-Perot interferometer and a p+n silicon photosensor. Transmission of light through a Fabry-Perot etalon is exponentially sensitive to small displacements in a movable mirror due to an applied accelerating force. The photosensor converts this displacement into an electrical signal as well as provides for additional amplification. Because the interferometer and photosensor are monolithically integrated on a silicon substrate, the combination is compact and has minimal parasitic elements, thereby reducing the accelerometer's noise level and increasing its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).The accelerometer's sensitivity can be user-controlled by any one or a combination of factors: providing an electrostatic potential across the mirrors of the Fabry-Perot etalon hence selecting a desired gap therebetween; adjusting the power of the light projected to the photosensor; and pulsing the light at a selected frequency to minimize 1/f inherent system noise in the response of the accelerometer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.