Publications

A new micromachined gyroscope based on a vibrating ring is described. The device measures rotation rate or whole angle inertial rotation by monitorying the position of node lines in a vibrating ring. To sense rotation, the ring is electrostatically forced into an elliptically shaped vibration mode and the psoition of the node lines are capacitively monitored. When the device is rotated about the ring center, the node lines, lag behind the rotations due the the Coriolis force. The control and readout circuitry monitors this lag and develops a corrective voltage, that is proportional to the...

This report describes miniature gas-filled plasma-discharge cavities fabricated using combined surface and subsurface micromachining. Starting with a bare silicon substrate, successive layers of polycrystalline silicon, low-stress silicon nitride, and low-temperature oxide layers were deposited to form the micro cavities. Polysilicon electrodes were patterned to serve as electrical connections to the gas. Low-stress silicon nitride formed the insulating layer and the cavity wall which confined neon at atmospheric pressure. Low-temperature oxide served as the sacrificial layer which defined...

A microminiature, noncontracting electrostatic voltmeter (ESV), produced by IC processes on a silicon wafer, is described. The ESV works on the principle of intermittent shuttering and exposing a sensing electrode to an electric field between a remote electrode at a different potential from the sensing electrode. The resultant time-varying field at the electrode produces an electrical signal. The principle of ESV measurements by intermittent shuttering is well establihsed and hybrid designs are presently used commerically. This invention teaches how the entire structure, and eventually the...