Temic Telefunken Microelectronic Gmbh

Conti Temic Microelectronic Gmbh

Daimler-benz Aerospace Ag

Manfred Weinacht

Gerald Brinks

Dieter Nagele

Helmut Seidel

Ulrich Prechtel

Peter Knittl

Thomas Ohgke

Viktor Tiederle

Konrad Kapser

Sebastian Toelg

Klaus Farber

A micromechanical capacitive acceleration sensor is described for picking up the acceleration of an object in at least one direction. The sensor includes a frame structure (), a sensor inertia mass () made of a wafer and movably mounted relative to the frame structure () about a rotation axis, and a capacitive pick-up unit () for producing at least one capacitive output signal representing the position of the sensor mass () relative to the frame structure (). The sensor inertia mass () has a center of gravity which offset relative to the rotation axis in a direction perpendicularly to a wafer plane for measuring accelerations laterally to the wafer plane. The sensor mass () and the frame structure () are made monolithically of one single crystal silicon wafer. A cover section () forms a common connector plane () for the connection of capacitor electrodes (). Torqueable elements () form an electrically conducting bearing device for the sensor mass ().

Micromechanical capacitive acceleration sensor

The invention concerns a process for driving a sensor with offset control. Such processes for driving are required, for example, to be used in acceleration transducers in motor vehicles for triggering, e.g., airbags or belt-tensioning devices. However, with existing processes the output nominal signal was repeatedly corrupted, e.g., by temperature-related interference signals, also known as the offset. In addition, existing systems are unreliable during turn-on. However, with the process according to this invention, the sign and the value of the difference between the output signal and a reference voltage is detected at a fixed or variable time pulse, with the sign changing the measuring voltage at the output and the difference value determining the clock frequency for this control process. Also, during turn-on a significantly increased clock frequency will be reduced in stages until the operating frequency is reached. The process according to this invention, therefore, allows reliable and low cost acceleration transducers to be realized.

Process for driving a sensor with offset control

A piezoelectric acceleration transducer characterized by a flexible element formed of a piezoelectric material with two external electrodes, a support member having two plate-type supporting components between which the flexible member is arranged, and a carrier plate to which the support member is mechanically and electrically connected such that the principal axis of sensitivity of the flexible element lies in the same plane as the carrier plate. The supporting components may be formed of a nonconducting material with a electrically conductive coating on the side facing the flexible element and at a point of contact with the carrier base. Alternatively, the supporting components may be made from an electrically conductive material.

Piezoelectric acceleration transducer

System for packaging integrated circuits, especially sensors, in a housing, which also comprises multicontact bondings, especially hybrid ICs for three-dimensional arrangement of modules, wherein sensors (4, 5) are arranged at an angle in relation to one another on the base plate or the substrate (1). The sensors are contained in the single housing together with contact pins (pins) (2), and are connected in one plane by automatic bonding.

Bonding and encapsulated three dimensional hybrid integrated circuit

Growing community of inventors

Dettingen/Teck, Germany

Manfred Weinacht