Modeling the mechanical behavior of bulk-micromachined silicon accelerometers

In this paper a thorough analysis of the static and dynamic behavior of bulk-micromachined silicon accelerometers is given. Analytical techniques are used and it will be shown that these provide insight into trends and give results within 1% of numerical simulations performed in ANSYS. Discussed issues include the static modeling (sensitivity, cross-axis sensitivity) of the two most commonly used structures, i.e., cantilever-supported and multiple-supported structures, and also the dynamic behavior of these devices, such as resonance and damping. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.