Guard bands which control out-of-plane sensitivities in tuning fork gyroscopes and other sensors

摘要

Guard bands which reduce or eliminate force and sensitivity associated with proof mass motion normal to the substrate as a result of voltage transients is disclosed. The guard bands are biased to reduce the coupling ratio to zero and thereby enable starting and improved performance. Various configurations of guard bands may be employed including distinct inner and outer guard bands, distinct inner guard bands only, extended sense electrodes below inner sensing combs with no outer guards, distinct outer guard bands with extended sense electrodes, and sense electrodes extended beneath both drive and sensing combs.