Denso Corporation

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Tohoku University

Chiba University

Takao Iwaki

Yukihiro Takeuchi

Hiroyuki Wado

Toshimasa Yamamoto

Kazuhiko Kano

Akihiko Teshigahara

Tetsuo Yoshioka

Yasushi Goka

Inao Toyoda

Toshiyuki Morishita

Masayoshi Esashi

Yasushi Kohno

Hiroaki Ito

Toshiki Isogai

Shuji Tanaka

Nobuyuki Ohya

Kenya Hashimoto

Megumi Suzuki

Tomoki Tanemura

Koichi Goto

Toshihiko Takahata

Makoto Tsunekawa

Shuntaro Yoshida

Akira Okada

Kazumasa Ogino

Kiyokazu Isomura

Tomoyuki Mizutani

Ryuuichirou Abe

Toshirou Gotou

Takuya Ishikawa

Kiyoyuki Sugiura

A surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor includes a surface acoustic wave material and a comb-teeth electrode. The surface acoustic wave material is to be arranged at a place where the surface acoustic wave material is distorted by physical quantity such as stress. The comb-teeth electrode is arranged on the surface of the surface acoustic wave material to excite a surface acoustic wave to the surface acoustic wave material. The surface acoustic wave material has a sapphire board and a ScAlN film arranged on a surface of the sapphire board.

Surface acoustic wave sensor

A torque sensor includes: a base portion fixed to a metal shaft having a rod shape as a measurement object of strain; a strain detection element of a surface acoustic wave type which is arranged in the base portion, and detects the strain of the metal shaft () through the base portion; and a fixing portion that is arranged between the base portion and the strain detection element, and fixes the strain detection element to the base portion.

Torque sensor and manufacturing method therefor

A Fabry-Perot interferometer includes a fixed mirror structure and a movable mirror structure. The fixed mirror structure has a fixed mirror in a spectral region. The movable mirror structure includes a membrane spaced from the fixed mirror structure. The membrane has a movable mirror in the spectral region and multiple springs arranged one inside the other around the spectral region. A spring constant of the inner spring is less than a spring constant of the outer spring. One of the fixed mirror structure and the membrane has multiple electrodes, and the other of the fixed mirror structure and the membrane has at least one electrode that is paired with the electrodes to form opposing electrode pairs arranged one inside the other around the spectral region. The number of the opposing electrode pairs is equal to the number of the springs.

Fabry-perot interferometer having an increased spectral band

A capacitance type acceleration sensor includes a semiconductor substrate, a weight portion supported with the substrate through a spring portion, a movable electrode integrated with the weight portion, and a fixed electrode cantilevered with the substrate. The movable electrode is displaced along with a facing surface of the movable electrode in accordance with acceleration. The facing surface of the movable electrode faces a facing surface of the fixed electrode so as to provide a capacitor. The capacitance of the capacitor changes in accordance with a displacement of the movable electrode so that an outer circuit detects the acceleration as a capacitance change. Each facing surface of the movable and fixed electrodes has a concavity and convexity portion for increasing the capacitance change.

Capacitance type acceleration sensor

A flow sensor for detecting flow of fluid includes a thin film portion. The thin film portion has a heater and a detector for detecting temperature around the heater. The heater is made of semiconductor. This flow sensor has high sensor sensitivity with low energy consumption. Further, the sensor has high detection accuracy, and the thin film portion has high endurance. Furthermore, the flow sensor with a passivation film has appropriate thickness so as to improve strength of a thin film portion.

Flow sensor having thin film portion and method for manufacturing the same

An airflow meter has a membrane type sensor element. The sensor element is supported on a support member so that a sensing surface of the sensor element is in parallel to the airflow direction. The airflow meter has at least one means for protecting the sensor element from dust such as foreign particles. The protecting means is provided with an obstruction member that is disposed upstream or downstream of the sensor element with respect to the airflow direction. The sensor element is hidden behind the obstruction member. The obstruction member has gradually spreading surfaces and gradually converging surfaces along the airflow direction. Alternatively, the protecting means can be provided with a deflector, a cover member, a flow guide member, an inlet or a dust collector.

Apparatus for measuring flow amount

An airflow meter has a member that defines a bypass passage. The bypass passage has a sensing passage in which a sensor tip is disposed. The sensing passage is restricted in at least a lateral direction that is a direction perpendicular to both a longitudinal direction of the sensing passage and a perpendicular direction perpendicular to the surface of the sensor tip. This arrangement defines relatively wider distance in the perpendicular direction on the sensor tip.

Airflow meter

A thin-film type flow sensor having a thin-film part in which a plurality of patterned resistor films are sandwiched between a pair of insulator films. The resistance ratios among the resistor films are minimized from one sensor to another made from the same wafer. The flow sensor has a lower insulator film, the resistor films, and an upper film laminated in succession on a substrate. The resistor films include a patterned fluid thermometer, a temperature detector, and a heater. The heater has a wiring configuration in which resistor elements are connected in a parallel manner. The wiring widths of the heater and the thermometer can thus be made identical, so that the resistance ratios become invariant over the wafer surface, irrespective of a disparity in etching variations.

Flow sensor

A flow sensor, which includes a diaphragm, is made such that the diaphragm is flat or outwardly deformed to allow fluid flow rate measurements at higher flow rates. The diaphragm is made of an upper set of insulating films, electric devices, and a lower set of insulating films. The component layers of the diaphragm are formed such that the average stress in the upper set of insulating films is more compressive than the average stress in the lower set of insulating films.

A flow sensor includes a substrate in which a cavity is formed. A thin film structure is located above the cavity. The thin film structure includes a patterned multilayer film. A dummy film layer is formed or a number of dummy film layers are formed in close proximity to the patterned multilayer film to protect the multilayer film from the effect of reduction gas.

Thin film sensor, method of manufacturing thin film sensor, and flow sensor

An angular velocity sensor has a weight portion that can be drive-oscillated in a driving direction and be oscillated in a detecting direction when an angular velocity is applied, and unnecessary oscillation suppressing electrodes that can generate an electrostatic force to be applied to the weight portion in the detecting direction. The electrostatic force prevents the weight portion from being drive-oscillated in a direction other than the driving direction. As a result, unnecessary oscillation of the weight portion can be prevented even when the angular velocity sensor has a processing error.

Angular velocity sensor capable of preventing unnecessary oscillation

An angular velocity sensor device includes drive oscillators oscillated by driving in drive direction a,, and detecting oscillators connected to the drive oscillators and oscillated in detecting directions a,, a,by a Coriolis force, which is generated by an angular velocity in a direction K. The directions a,, a,respectively make an angle &thgr; with the direction K. Detection electrodes are provided for the detecting oscillators, and produce output signals. A signal caused by an inertia force and a signal caused by the Coriolis force are obtained from the output signals, and the angular velocity is determined by the two signals.

Growing community of inventors

Obu, Japan

Takao Iwaki