Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Max Steger

Christofer Hierold

Thomas Scheiter

Reinhold Noe

Markus Biebl

Hergen Kapels

Ulrich Naher

Ulrich Naeher

Rotation rate sensor

A capacitance to be measured is connected together with three further capacitances to form a bridge circuit, in which each two of the capacitors are connected in series, and these two series circuits are connected in parallel to one another, and which replaces a part of the input stage of a .SIGMA.-.DELTA. modulator. As inputs of this bridge circuit, terminals are provided at the ends of these series circuits, and as outputs terminals are respectively provided between the capacitors connected one after the other in series. In a sensor realized thereby, two capacitively measuring sensor elements of the same type are used. These capacitors are built into the bridge circuit together with two equally large reference capacitors in such a way that exactly one measurement capacitor and one reference capacitor is La connected is connected to each input and to each output of the bridge circuit.

Capacitively measuring sensor and readout circuit

An acceleration sensor has a mass part movably attached over a substrate with pairs of electrodes arranged relative to the mass part so that one electrode of each pair is under the mass part and the other electrode of that pair is arranged above the mass part. The electrodes are attached immovably to the substrate. Controllable electrical voltages can be applied such via an electronic drive circuit to the electrically conductively doped mass part and to these electrodes so that excursions of the mass part can be electrostatically compensated and, at the same time, the magnitude of inertial forces acting on the mass part, and thus the magnitude of accelerations, can be measured.

Acceleration sensor

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Munich, Germany

Max Steger