A vibration sensor having a moveable mass being suspended in a suspension member and being adapted to move in response to vibrations or accelerations. The moveable mass and the suspension member are rigidly connected across one or more gaps formed by respective opposing surfaces of the moveable mass and the suspension member. The vibration sensor includes a damping arrangement having a damping substance. The moveable mass is arranged to interact directly or indirectly with the damping substance in order to reduce a mechanical resonance peak of the vibration sensor.

Inertial sensor comprising a fixed part and at least one mass suspended from the fixed part and means of damping the displacement of the part suspended from the fixed part, said damping means being electromechanical damping means comprising at least one DC power supply source, one electrical resistor and one variable capacitor in series, said variable capacitor being formed partly by the suspended part and partly by the fixed part such that displacement of the suspended part causes a variation of the capacitance of the variable capacitor.

Apparatus and methods for interfacing with a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensor are provided. In an example, an apparatus can interface circuit including an integrator circuit, a sample switch circuit, a saturation detector and a controller. The saturation detector can be configured to receive a signal indicative of an integration of charge of the sensor, to compare the signal indicative of the integration of charge to an integrator saturation threshold and to modulate a divide parameter using the comparison of the signal indicative of the integration of charge and the integrator saturation threshold. The controller can be configured to receive a clock signal and to control the sample switch circuit based on a phase of the clock signal and the divide parameter.

An inertial sensor includes a substrate, a first supporting beam being a first rotation axis extending along a first direction, a first movable member swingable around the first rotation axis, a second supporting beam being a second rotation axis extending along a second direction crossing the first direction, a second movable member swingable around the second rotation axis, a third rotation axis extending along a second direction, a third movable member swingable around the third rotation axis, and a projection, wherein the second and third movable members are line-symmetrically placed with a center line of the first movable member along the second direction as an axis of symmetry, a center of gravity of the second movable member is closer to the center line than the second supporting beam, and a center of gravity of the third movable member is closer to the center line than the third supporting beam.

An inertial sensor not susceptible to temperature change and vibration disturbance in an implementation environment of the inertial sensor is provided. In the present invention, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 9, an extending portion EXU is provided so as to connect to a fixing portion FU3, this extending portion EXU and a third region P3 which configures part of a mass body MS are connected via a support beam BM3 and a support beam BM4, and the support beam BM3 and the support beam BM4 are disposed oppositely with respect to a virtual line IL1. With this, natural frequency of an unwanted mode due to rotation and torsion of the mass body MS can be shifted to a high frequency band.

A micromechanical sensor device includes an evaluation circuit formed in a first substrate, and an MEMS structure which is situated in a cavity delimited by a second substrate and a third substrate, the MEMS structure and the second substrate being situated on top of each other, the MEMS structure being functionally connected to the evaluation circuit via a contact area, the contact area between the MEMS structure and the first substrate being situated essentially centrally on the second substrate and essentially centrally on the first substrate and has an essentially punctiform configuration, proceeding radially from the contact area, a clearance being formed between the first substrate and the second substrate.

Embodiments of multi-frequency excitation are described. In various embodiments, a natural frequency of a device may be determined. In turn, a first voltage amplitude and first fixed frequency of a first source of excitation can be selected for the device based on the natural frequency. Additionally, a second voltage amplitude of a second source of excitation can be selected for the device, and the first and second sources of excitation can be applied to the device. After applying the first and second sources of excitation, a frequency of the second source of excitation can be swept. Using the methods of multi-frequency excitation described herein, new operating frequencies, operating frequency ranges, resonance frequencies, resonance frequency ranges, and/or resonance responses can be achieved for devices and systems.

The present invention relates micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS); in particular to a comb channel structure for decreasing damping asymmetry of comb electrodes used to measure movement of components with MEMS devices. The channel is formed by a series of recesses formed in the comb fingers of the comb electrodes, or in the cap or handle wafer adjacent to the comb fingers. The channel increases the cross sectional area of the path through which gas can move into or out of the space between the comb electrodes as the comb electrodes move with respect to one another. Thus, when there is a damping asymmetry caused by a difference in the distance between the comb electrode and the cap wafer, and the comb electrode and handle wafer, the channel is employed on the side of the comb electrode with the smaller distance to the adjacent wafer to reduce the damping asymmetry.

A MEMS accelerometer includes a supporting structure, at least one deformable group and one second deformable group, which include, respectively, a first deformable cantilever element and a second deformable cantilever element, which each have a respective first end, which is fixed to the supporting structure, and a respective second end. The first and second deformable groups further include, respectively, a first piezoelectric detection structure and a second piezoelectric detection structure. The MEMS accelerometer further includes: a first mobile mass and a second mobile mass, which are fixed, respectively, to the second ends of the first and second deformable cantilever elements and are vertically staggered with respect to the first and second deformable cantilever elements, respectively; and a first elastic structure, which elastically couples the first and second mobile masses.

An inertial sensor includes: a substrate; a fixing part arranged at one surface of the substrate; a moving element having an opening and configured to swing about a rotation axis along a first direction; a support beam supporting the moving element as the rotation axis in the opening of the moving element; and a support part supporting the support beam. The support part includes a first part fixed to the fixing part, and a second part formed only of a part not fixed to the fixing part. A length in the first direction of the second part is longer than a length in the first direction of the first part.