Capacitance accelerometer with metal microbeam

At present, there exist numerous designs of accelerometers based on microelectromechanical systems technology. We propose an accelerometer that also belongs to this design, whose operation principle is based on transformation of different capacitance signals generated by displacement of a mass element. A distinctive feature of the proposed accelerometer is the use of hybrid metal-silicon technology allowing us to replace silicon, a brittle material, with a metal alloy featuring high mechanical properties. The combined accelerometer design proposed is intended for operation in the range of small acceleration, up to ±2 g, where high accuracy of measurements and sensitivity of 0.01 g are insured. The combined design can be used equally well for higher acceleration ranges. A mathematical calculation and optimization of the proposed device were carried out. A solution for the problem of matching materials with different thermal extension coefficients is also proposed. This makes it possible to develop and produce metal-silicon structures for accelerometers in a wide region of acceleration values.