A sensor assembly is disclosed. The sensor assembly includes a housing that includes a top housing and a bottom housing that clamp together. The sensor assembly also includes a printed circuit board assembly (PBA). The sensor assembly also includes at least one piece of elastic material that is located in between the top housing and the PBA and in between the bottom housing and the PBA. When the PBA is clamped in the housing, the sensor assembly allows the PBA to maintain alignment relative to the housing across different environments in order to enable proper operation of the sensor assembly. A top surface of the PBA and a bottom surface of the PBA each have at least one three-dimensional feature that is designed to increase friction with the elastic material.

A sensor package comprising: a sensor, wherein the sensor comprises a sensing structure formed in a material layer and one or more further material layers arranged to seal the sensing structure to form a hermetically sealed sensor unit; a support structure; one or more springs flexibly fixing the hermetically sealed sensor unit to the support structure; wherein the one or more springs are formed in the same material layer as the sensing structure of the sensor unit; and one or more external package wall(s) encapsulating the sensor unit, the support structure, and the one or more springs, wherein the support structure is fixed to at least one of the package wall(s). The springs decouple mechanical stresses between the sensor unit and the external package wall(s) so as to reduce the long term drift of scale factor and bias.

A physical quantity detection element includes: a substrate; first and second fixed electrode portions on the substrate; a movable body on the upper portion of the substrate; and a beam on the movable body, the movable body includes a first movable body on a first side of the beam, and a second movable body on a second side of the beam, the first movable body includes a first movable electrode portion facing the first fixed electrode portion and a first mass portion disposed in an opposite direction of the beam from the first movable electrode portion, the second movable body includes a second movable electrode portion facing the second fixed electrode portion, a mass of the first movable body is greater than a mass of the second movable body, and a mass of the first mass portion is greater than a mass of the first movable electrode portion.

Microelectronic structure comprising at least one movable mass that is mechanically connected to a first mechanical element by a first mechanically linking connector and to a second mechanical element (24) by electrically conductive second mechanically linking connector, and a device for electrically biasing the second mechanically linking connector, the second mechanically linking connector being such that they are the seat of a thermo-piezoresistive effect, the second linking connector and the movable mass being placed with respect to each other so that a movement of the movable mass applies a mechanical stress to the second linking connector, wherein the electrically biasing device are DC voltage biasing device and form, with at least the second mechanically linking connector, a thermo-piezoresistive feedback electric circuit.

Linear accelerometer comprising a fixed part, a rotationally moving part in the plane of the accelerometer around an axis of rotation orthogonal to the plane of the accelerometer, the moving part comprising a centre of gravity distinct from the point of intersection of the axis of rotation and the plane of the accelerometer, means forming pivot link between the moving part and the fixed part, means for detecting the displacement of the moving part with respect to the fixed part, means for viscous damping the displacement of the moving part in said plane, said viscous damping means comprising interdigitated combs, at least one first comb on the moving part and at least one second comb on the fixed part (2), the first comb and the second comb being interdigitated.

Mechanical low pass filters for motion sensors and methods for making the same are disclosed. In an implementation, a motion sensor package comprises: a substrate; one or more viscous dampers formed on the substrate; one or more mechanically compliant metal springs formed on the substrate; and a sensor stack attached to the one or more metal springs, the sensor stack overlying the one or more viscous dampers and forming a gap between the sensor stack and the one or more viscous dampers and channels between the one or more viscous dampers and metal springs, wherein the one or more metal springs and the one or more viscous dampers provide a mechanical suspension system having a resonant frequency that is higher than a sensing bandwidth of a motion sensor in the sensor stack and lower than a resonant frequency of the motion sensor.

Mechanical low pass filters for motion sensors and methods for making same are disclosed. In some implementations, a motion sensor package comprises: a substrate; one or more mechanically compliant dampers formed on the substrate; one or more mechanically compliant metal springs formed on the one or more dampers and the substrate; and a sensor stack attached to the one or more metal springs, wherein the one or more metal springs and dampers provide a mechanical suspension system having a resonant frequency that is higher than a sensing bandwidth of a motion sensor in the sensor stack and lower than a resonant frequency of the motion sensor.

In one embodiment, a sensor includes a rigid wafer outer body. A first cavity is located within the rigid wafer outer body, and a first vibration isolating spring is supported by the rigid wafer outer body and extends into the first cavity. A second vibration isolating spring is supported by the rigid wafer outer body and extends into the first cavity, and a first sensor packaging is supported by the first vibration isolating spring and the second vibration isolating spring within the first cavity.

A device for reducing package stress sensitivity of a sensor includes one or more anchor points for attaching to a substrate; a rigid frame structure configured to at least partially support the sensor; and a compliant element between each anchor point and the rigid frame structure. Also disclosed is a device for supporting a micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) sensor comprising four anchor points for attaching to a substrate; a rigid frame structure configured to support the MEMS sensor; and a crab-leg suspension element between each anchor point and the rigid frame structure, wherein the crab-leg suspension element is compliant. A method for reducing package stress sensitivity of a sensor is provided as well.

A micromechanical sensor that is produced surface-micromechanically includes at least one mass element formed in a third functional layer that is non-perforated at least in certain portions. The sensor has a gap underneath the mass element that is formed by removal of a second functional layer and at least one oxide layer. The removal of the at least one oxide layer takes place by introducing a gaseous etching medium into a defined number of etching channels arranged substantially parallel to one another. The etching channels are configured to be connected to a vertical access channel in the third functional layer.