TUNNELING SENSOR WITH LINEAR FORCE REBALANCE

摘要

A tunneling sensor (10) has a pair of force rebalance capacitors in a push- pull relationship to provide a rebalance force that is a linear function of applied rebalance voltages, which provides an output voltage linearly related to the input acceleration. The tunneling sensor comprises plate electrode (12) attached to a silicon substrate (14) by a pai r of torsional flexures (16) providing an axis of rotation for the plate electrode. A pendulous mass (18) is formed on a first end of the plate electrode, and a tunnel-effect contact (20) is formed on a second end of the plate electrode. A pair of torque rebalance bridge electrodes (22 ) are formed on the substrate and span the plate electrode. A tunnel-effect tip (24) is formed proximate the tunnel-effect contact and in- line with the rotational path of the tunnel-effect contact (2) when the plate electrode is rotated.