Multisensor MEMS Inertial Chip for Wide-Range Vehicle Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing MEMS inertial sensors face challenges in accurately sensing a wide range of accelerations due to alignment issues, complexity in design, and vulnerability to harsh environments, which can lead to sensor failure and increased size, weight, and cost.
Innovation Solution
A multisensor chip package with multiple inertial sensors fabricated on a single chip using a silicon-on-insulator process, allowing for hermetic sealing and alignment, and incorporating system-on-chip processing to enhance sensitivity and reduce latency, with built-in shock protection to prevent sensor damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple inertial sensors are fabricated on separate chips, then each sensor can be optimized for specific acceleration ranges, but alignment issues and increased device complexity occur
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple inertial sensors with different operating ranges are fabricated on a single silicon chip using standard CMOS processes, eliminating alignment issues between separate chips and reducing overall device complexity while maintaining optimized sensing capabilities for each acceleration range
2Reliability
If sensors are packaged in hermetically sealed packages, then reliability in harsh environments improves, but size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sensors are integrated on a single chip and packaged together in one hermetically sealed package, reducing the total number of separate packages needed and thereby decreasing overall weight and size while maintaining reliability protection for all sensors
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate sensor chips are used, then sensor coverage for different acceleration ranges is achieved, but processing latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple inertial sensors are fabricated on the same chip with integrated readout circuitry, enabling simultaneous sensing and processing of signals from all sensors without the latency introduced by separate chip interconnections and data transfer
4Ease of manufacture
If standard CMOS fabrication is used for multiple sensors, then manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced, but alignment precision may suffer
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple inertial sensors are fabricated using standard CMOS processes on the same silicon chip, where photolithographic patterning inherently provides precise alignment between different sensor elements, eliminating the need for separate alignment operations while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a MEMS inertial sensor device in a semiconductor chip package that includes an integrated circuit configured to process inertial sensor data. Preferred implementations utilize inertial sensors having different sensitivity ranges to adjust operation of dynamic system control such as motion and or attitude control of autonomous vehicles.