Development of a dual-axis micromachined convective accelerometer with an effective heater geometry

This paper describes the design, fabrication and testing of a dual-axis micromachined convective accelerometer with a diamond-shaped heater. Modification of heater geometry is advantageous because it is simple and ensures enhanced sensitivity without constraining device size or operating power. The diamond-shaped heater induces active heat flow and a sharp temperature gradient around the heater; together these effects provide high sensitivity. When the fabricated convective accelerometer used SF6 as an enclosed gas medium, its measured sensitivity was 3.5 mV/g when operating power was 7.4 mW and its bandwidth at −3 dB was 25 Hz.