Three-axis CMOS MEMS inductive accelerometer with novel Z-axis sensing scheme

This paper reports a three-axis CMOS MEMS inductive accelerometer fabricated by a 0.18 μm CMOS process. The folded suspension beams around the single shuttle mass function as springs and inductor windings simultaneously. The winding inductance is changed upon deformation due to the shuttle mass displacement. The inductance variation is sensed by differential LC-tank oscillators. A novel z-axis inductive sensing scheme is proposed. Experiments showed sensitivities of 12.9, 21.6, and 1.2 kHz/g in the x, y, and z axes, respectively.