Piezoelectric rotational MEMS resonator
AssigneeMurata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
InventorHeikki Kuisma
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This disclosure reveals a resonator where at least one suspended inertial mass is driven into rotational oscillation by a piezoelectric drive transducer, or where the rotational motion of at least one suspended inertial mass is sensed by a piezoelectric sense transducer. The disclosure is based on the idea of attaching suspenders to the inertial mass with at least one flexure, which allows the end of the suspender which is attached to the inertial mass to rotate in relation to the inertial mass at this attachment point when the inertial mass is in motion. The resonator may be employed in a resonator system, a clock oscillator or a gyroscope.
Claims21
A rotational resonator comprising:
- a substrate with at least one anchor point and an inertial mass with a first longitudinal end and a second longitudinal end, wherein the first longitudinal end and second longitudinal end lie on opposite sides of the at least one anchor point, and
- wherein the inertial mass is suspended from the at least one anchor points by at least one suspender extending from the at least one anchor points toward the first longitudinal end of the inertial mass, and by at least one suspender extending from the at least one anchor point toward the second longitudinal end of the inertial mass,
- wherein each suspender is attached from a first attachment point to the anchor point of the respective suspender, and from a second attachment point to the inertial mass,
- wherein one or more of the suspenders are coated with a piezoelectric transducer structure configured to drive or detect oscillating rotary movement in the inertial mass,
- wherein at least one coated suspender is attached from the second attachment point of the respective suspender to the inertial mass with a flexure.
A rotational resonator system comprising:
- a substrate with at least a first anchor point and a second anchor point, and first and second inertial masses which are mechanically coupled to each other,
- wherein the first inertial mass is suspended from the first anchor point by at least a first suspender and a second suspender, and the second inertial mass is suspended from the second anchor point by at least a third suspender and a fourth suspender,
- wherein the first and third suspenders extend from the respective anchor points of the first and third suspenders towards a first longitudinal end of the resonator system,
- wherein the second and fourth suspenders extend from the respective anchor points of the second and fourth suspenders towards a second longitudinal end of the resonator system,
- wherein further the first and second suspenders are attached from the respective first attachment points of the first and second suspenders to the first anchor point and the third and fourth suspenders are attached from the respective first attachment points of the third and fourth suspenders to the second anchor point,
- wherein further at least one of the suspenders is coated with a piezoelectric transducer structure configured to drive or detect oscillating rotary movement in the inertial mass attached to the respective at least one coated suspender,
- wherein at least one of the coated suspenders is attached from its second attachment point to either the first or the second inertial mass with a flexure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.