A physical quantity sensor includes, when three directions orthogonal to one another are defined as a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction, a substrate; and a moving member facing the substrate in the third direction via a gap and becoming displaced in the third direction in relation to the substrate. The moving member has a first region that has a plurality of penetration holes penetrating the moving member in the third direction and having a square opening shape as viewed from the third direction, and a second region having no penetration hole. At least one of a length in the first direction and a length in the second direction of the second region is equal to or greater than S0+2×S1, where S0 is a length of one side of the penetration hole, and S1 is a space between the penetration holes next to each other.

A micromechanical sensor system, in particular, an acceleration sensor, including a substrate having a main extension plane, the sensor system including a first mass and a second mass. The first and second masses are each designed to be at least partially movable in a vertical direction, perpendicular to the main extension plane of the substrate. The first mass includes a stop structure, wherein the stop structure has an overlap with the second mass in the vertical direction.

An inertia measurement module and three-axis accelerometer, comprising a first pole piece (4) located on a substrate and a mass block (1) suspendingly connected above the substrate via elastic beams (11, 12); the elastic beams (11, 12) includes a first elastic beam (12) and a second elastic beam (11), two ends of the second elastic beams (11) being connected to an anchor point (6) of the substrate, two ends of the first elastic beam (11) being connected to the mass block (1); a center of the first elastic beam (12) and/or the second elastic beam (11) deviates from a center of gravity of the mass block (1); the mass block (1) is further provided with a first movable electrode (9) and a second movable electrode (10) in a Y-axis and an X-axis direction; the movement of one axis in a plane of the inertia measurement module cannot be affected by an eccentric structure feature, such that both X-axis movement and Y-axis movement are linear movements, thus not intensifying an inter-axis coupling, and also not reducing displacement of a mass block on the X-axis and the Y-axis, thus improving capacitance detection precision.

The present invention relates to capacitive micromechanical accelerometers, and in particular to acceleration sensors with movable rotors which may rotate out of a substrate plane when the accelerometer undergoes movement with an acceleration component perpendicular to the substrate plane. The capacitive micromechanical accelerometer includes additional damping springs to reduce unwanted movement of the rotor in the substrate plane, thereby reducing the parasitic capacitance that results from motion of the rotor in the substrate plane. The damping springs are vertically recessed with respect to other components of the accelerometer in order to minimise the effect of the damping springs on movement of the rotor out of the substrate plane.

A structure forming method according to an aspect is a structure forming method for forming a first hole and a second hole having width smaller than width of the first hole in a substrate with dry etching and forming a structure. The structure forming method includes forming an etching mask on the substrate, etching a portion of the etching mask overlapping a first hole forming region where the first hole is formed, etching a portion of the etching mask overlapping a second hole forming region where the second hole is formed, and performing the dry etching of the substrate using the etching mask as a mask.

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.

An inertial sensor includes a substrate, a sensor element provided on the substrate, a lid that covers the sensor element and is bonded to the substrate, and a plurality of terminals positioned outside the lid and electrically coupled to the sensor element, in which the plurality of terminals include an input terminal to which an electrical signal is input and a detection terminal for detecting a signal from the sensor element, and L1>L2, where L1 is a distance between the input terminal and the lid, and L2 is a distance between the detection terminal and the lid.

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.

A MEMS device includes: a substrate as a base including a support portion and a detection electrode as a fixed electrode; a movable body supported to the support portion with a major surface of the movable body facing the fixed electrode; and an abutment portion facing at least a portion of an outer edge of the movable body and restricting rotational displacement in an in-plane direction of the major surface. The abutment portion includes an abutment surface including an abutment position at which the movable body abuts against the abutment portion due to the rotational displacement of the movable body, and a hollow portion provided opposing the abutment surface.

In a physical quantity sensor, when a smaller thickness among thicknesses of first fixed electrodes in first fixed electrode portions in a third direction and thicknesses of first movable electrodes in a first movable electrode portion in the third direction is defined as TCA, in a side view in a second direction in a stationary state, one ends of the first movable electrodes on a third direction side are positioned on the third direction side by 4 μm or more and TCA/2 or less relative to one ends of the first fixed electrodes on the third direction side. When an opposite direction of the third direction is defined as a fourth direction, the other ends of the first movable electrodes on a fourth direction side are positioned on the third direction side relative to the other ends of the first fixed electrodes on the fourth direction side.