Capacitive inertial sensing at high temperatures of up to 400 °C

High-temperature-resistant inertial sensors are increasingly requested in a variety of fields such as aerospace, automotive and energy. Capacitive detection is especially suitable for sensing at high temperatures due to its low intrinsic temperature dependence. In this paper, we present high-temperature measurements utilizing a capacitive accelerometer, thereby proving the feasibility of capacitive detection at temperatures of up to 400 °C. We describe the observed characteristics as the temperature is increased and propose an explanation of the physical mechanisms causing the temperature dependence of the sensor, which mainly involve the temperature dependence of the Young's modulus and of the viscosity and the pressure of the gas inside the sensor cavity. Therefore a static electromechanical model and a dynamic model that takes into account squeeze film damping were developed.