Seiko Epson Corporation

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Masako Tanaka

Masayuki Kikushima

Naohisa Obata

Yukihiro Unno

Yook-Kong Yong

Mihir S Patel

Ryuta Nishizawa

Takashi Endo

Shigeo Kanna

Eiji Karaki

Shigeru Shiraishi

Guoqing Zhang

A vibration element includes a piezoelectric substrate including a vibrating section and a thick section having a thickness larger than that of the vibrating section. The thick section includes a first thick section provided along a first outer edge of the vibrating section, a second thick section provided along a second outer edge thereof, and a third thick section provided along a third outer edge thereof. When a maximum size of the second thick section in the vibration direction is Lmax and a minimum size thereof is Lmin, an average size expressed by (Lmax+Lmin)/2 is 100 &#x3bc;m or smaller.

Vibration element, vibrator, oscillator, electronic apparatus, and moving object

A resonator element includes a piezoelectric substrate including a vibrating section and a thick section having a thickness larger than that of the vibrating section. The thick section includes a first thick section provided along a first outer edge of the vibrating section, a second thick section provided along a second outer edge, and a third thick section provided along a third outer edge. A first inclined outer edge section that is inclined with respect to both of an X axis direction and a Z' axis direction is provided in a corner section of the piezoelectric substrate where the second thick section and the third thick section are connected to each other.

Resonator element, resonator, oscillator, electronic apparatus, and moving object

A resonator element includes a piezoelectric substrate that includes a vibration portion, and a thick portion which is integrally formed with an outer edge excluding a partial outer edge in an outer edge of the vibration portion and which is thicker than the vibration portion, and a pair of excitation electrodes that are respectively provided on a first main surface and a second main surface of a vibration region which are in front and rear relationships. In addition, the piezoelectric substrate includes first and second beam portions that are provided along a fourth side of the vibration portion.

A vibration element includes a piezoelectric substrate including a vibrating section and a thick section having a thickness larger than that of the vibrating section. The thick section includes a first thick section provided along a first outer edge of the vibrating section, a second thick section provided along a second outer edge, and a third thick section provided along another first outer edge. An inclined outer edge section that intersects with each of an X axis and a Z' axis is provided in a tip section of the piezoelectric substrate.

An acceleration sensor having a vibrating body includes: a base fixed to a pedestal; an oscillating arm extended from the base in a beam-like shape, oscillating transversally in a planer direction at a predetermined resonant frequency. Here, the oscillating arm includes: an oscillating block defined by a through hole opened through a thickness direction at a widthwise center of the oscillating arm, the through hole extending in a lengthwise direction thereof; an added mass being a junction of a distal end of the oscillating block defined by the through hole; and an excitation means installed on the oscillating arm. At this time, the oscillating arm is supported by the base and by the added mass, either in a pseudo-dual anchor structure or a single anchor structure. With the above configuration, the acceleration sensor detects a resonant frequency variability of the vibrating body caused by an inertial effect of the added mass under acceleration.

Acceleration sensor

A quartz crystal resonator includes a quartz crystal resonator element having a main surface including an X axis (electrical axis) and a Z' axis of an inclination rotated at an angle (y) equal to or greater than 36.4 degrees and equal to or smaller than, 40.5 degrees from a Z axis (optical axis) around the X axis, a main vibrating portion vibrating at a predetermined resonance frequency (f) and a supporting portion integrally formed with the main vibrating portion in such a manner as to be formed peripherally to surround the main vibrating portion, and two covers having a thermal expansion coefficient equal to or greater than 6&#xd7;10per degrees centigrade and equal to or smaller than 10&#xd7;10per degrees centigrade and bonded to the supporting portion so as to sandwich the quartz crystal resonator element therebetween.

Quartz crystal resonator

An angular velocity sensor includes a protrusion protruding in a Y'-axis direction and extending in an X-axis direction on a main surface of a rotated Y cut quartz plate, and an excitation electrode and a detection electrode formed on the main surface adjacent to this protrusion. This excitation electrode excites thickness-shear vibration in the X-axis direction on the quartz substrate, exiting vibration on the protrusion. Then, the protrusion is bent and displaced due to Coriolis force acting in a direction orthogonal to the vibration of the protrusion corresponding to a rotation around an Y&#x2032; axis. This displacement at the protrusion is applied to the quartz substrate as stress. The detection electrode detects change of this stress, thereby angular speed added to the angular velocity sensor is detected.

Piezoelectric vibration angular velocity sensor

A piezoelectric vibrating element includes a main vibration section vibrating in a constant direction, an open edge formed at least at one edge among edges provided in a vibration direction of the main vibration section, an outer frame section formed so as to surround the main vibration section, and a junction section being disposed between the main vibration section excluding the open edge and the outer frame section, having groove parts being recessed with respect to both surfaces of the main vibration section and flat parts being substantially flush with the both surfaces of the main vibration section, and being formed so as to integrally connect the main vibration section with the outer frame section.

Piezoelectric vibrating element and piezoelectric vibrator

Exemplary embodiments provide a piezoelectric resonator element, to reduce the reaching of an attenuating vibration of a main vibration to a marginal edge of the piezoelectric resonator element, as well as to stabilize an oscillating-frequency without worsening the CI value, nor inducing another vibration mode. The piezoelectric resonator element having a thickness shear vibration as a main vibration, a first groove and a second groove formed so as to surround the center part of a main surface, and the thickness at the first groove and the second groove structured to be between 70% to 96%, inclusive, of the thickness of the center part of the resonator element.

Piezoelectric resonator element, piezoelectric, resonator, and piezoelectric oscillator

A piezoelectric vibrating element that includes: a main vibrating unit vibrating in a constant direction, an exciting electrode being formed on a top face and a bottom face of the main vibrating unit; an open end formed on at least one of a plurality of ends provided in a vibrating direction of the main vibrating unit; an outer frame unit formed so as to surround the main vibrating unit; a connecting unit formed so as to connect the main vibrating unit and the outer frame unit, wherein the connection unit is provided between the main vibrating unit and the outer frame unit except an area where the open end is formed, and is composed of a recess concave to a top face of the main vibrating unit and a flat part approximately in parallel with the top face of the main vibrating unit; and a connecting electrode formed in a manner of starting from the exciting electrode, passing at least through the top face of the flat part, to the top face of the outer frame unit, wherein an angle &#x3b8;that makes the top face of the flat part with respect to a connecting face to which the flat part and the outer frame unit are connected, and an angle &#x3b8;that makes the top face of the outer frame unit with respect to the connecting face satisfy a relation: 90&#xb0;&#x3c;&#x3b8;&#x3c;270&#xb0; and 90&#xb0;&#x3c;&#x3b8;&#x2266;180&#xb0;.

Aspects of the invention provide piezoelectric resonator element having a plurality of grooves for suppressing propagation of the thickness shear vibration from the center portion to the outer peripheral portion of the main surface being placed in enclosure-like shapes surrounding the center portion of at least one of the main surfaces.

Piezoelectric resonator element, piezoelectric resonator, and piezoelectric oscillator

A cut of a piezoelectric resonator uses a quartz plate having an electric axis, mechanical axis, and optic axis on an X axis, Y axis, and Z axis, respectively. An X' axis is set by rotating the X axis with an angle of 3&#x2013;30 degrees in a clockwise direction about the Z axis. A Z&#x2032; axis is set by rotating the Z axis in the clockwise direction with an angle of 33&#x2013;36 degrees about the X&#x2032; axis. The quartz plate has sides parallel to the X&#x2032; axis and Z&#x2032; axis, respectively. Furthermore, the plate has sides parallel to X&#x2033; axis and Z&#x2033; axis, respectively, which have been rotated in the clockwise direction with angles of from &#x2212;35 degrees to &#x2212;2 degrees about a Y&#x2032; axis that is the thickness direction of the cut of the piezoelectric resonator.

Cut of piezoelectric oscillator, piezoelectric oscillator, and piezoelectric device

The invention provides a stabilized frequency characteristic over a wide temperature range. A quartz resonating piece is provided such that an electrical axis of quartz corresponds to an X axis, a mechanical axis of the quartz corresponds to a Y axis, and an optical axis of the quartz corresponds to a Z axis. The quartz resonating piece includes a quartz plate having a side that is parallel to an X'axis set by clockwise rotation of the X axis around the Z axis by an angle equal to or greater than &#x2212;5.0&#xb0; and less than &#x2212;1.0&#xb0; or by an angle greater than +1.0&#xb0; and equal to or less than 15.9&#xb0;, and another side that is parallel to a Z&#x2032; axis set by clockwise rotation of the Z axis around the X&#x2032; axis by an angle in a range from 34.6&#xb0; to 35.1&#xb0; inclusive; or a quartz plate having a side that is parallel to the X&#x2032; axis set by clockwise rotation of the X axis around the Z axis by an angle in a range from &#x2212;15.9&#xb0; to &#x2212;5.0&#xb0; inclusive, and another side that is parallel to the Z&#x2032; axis set by clockwise rotation of the Z axis around the X&#x2032; axis by an angle in a range from 34.2&#xb0; to 35.3&#xb0; inclusive.

Quartz resonating piece, quartz resonator, and quartz device

A package has a first region and a second region on one principal plane, and has a base including a ceramic board where wiring patterns to connect a quartz crystal resonator element and an IC chip for its driving are formed. In the base, a first sidewall enclosing the first region is arranged on the top side of the board, and the quartz crystal resonator element is mounted in a first void space delimited in its internal, and the IC chip is mounted in a second void space delimited by a second sidewall enclosing the second region. The first sidewall is formed to be higher than the second sidewall, a metal cover is seam welded at the upper end thereof, and the first void space is sealed in a vacuum or nitrogen atmosphere. The IC chip of the second region is resin sealed. In addition to the miniaturization, thinning and high-accuracy frequency adjustment, the present invention reduces or eliminates the stray capacity caused by the adsorption of gas that is generated from electronic components and wiring, package/wiring structure, and the like to reduce or prevent the reduction of variable amount of frequency and displays a high frequency stability and aging characteristics. It is particularly suited to a high-frequency oscillator with a large variable amount of frequency.

Growing community of inventors

Okaya, Japan

Masako Tanaka