Single Crystal Silicon Low-g Acceleration Sensor 2002-01-1080

A single-crystal silicon capacitive acceleration sensor for low-g applications has been developed. The sensor element itself is formed entirely from single crystal silicon, giving it exceptional stability over time and temperature and excellent shock resistance.

The sensor is produced using low-cost, high volume processing, test and calibration. The sensor integrated circuit (IC) contains a proofmass which moves in response to applied accelerations. The position of the proofmass is capacitively detected and processed by an interface IC. The sensor/interface IC system is packaged in a small outline IC (SOIC) package for printed circuit board mounting. The module is designed to measure full scale accelerations in the 0.75g to 3g range to suit a variety of automotive, industrial and consumer applications