Micromachined angular rate sensor

摘要

An angular rate sensor device (10) such as a micro-machined vibrating structure gyroscope, comprises a resonator (16), drive means (18), sensing means (20) and associated electronic control means. The resonator (16), drive means (18), sensing means (20) and control means are fabricated from a layer of crystalline silicon (12) having a �100� principal crystal plane. In order to make the resonator (16) operate in this type of material without degrading its performance, the resonator (16) is arranged to be operated by the drive and sensing means (18, 20) under the control of the electronic control means with a vibration mode pair having modal parameters, such as Young's Modulus, matched to provide a consistent resonator response. In particular, the resonator (16) is arranged to be operated with a Sin3θ/Cos3θvibration mode pair providing degenerate carrier and response parameters.