A Novel, Hybrid-Integrated, High-Precision, Vacuum Microelectronic Accelerometer with Nano-Field Emission Tips

In this paper, a novel, hybrid-integrated, high-precision, vacuum microelectronic accelerometer is put forward, based on the theory of field emission; the accelerometer consists of a sensitive structure and an ASIC interface (application-specific integrated circuit). The sensitive structure has a cathode cone tip array, a folded beam, an emitter electrode, and a feedback electrode. The sensor is fabricated on a double-sided polished (1 0 0) N-type silicon wafer; the tip array of the cathode is shaped by wet etching with HNA (HNO3, HF, and CH3COOH) and metalized by TiW/Au thin film. The structure of the sensor is finally released by the ICP (inductively coupled plasma) process. The ASIC interface was designed and fabricated based on the P-JFET (Positive-Junction Field Effect Transistor) high-voltage bipolar process. The accelerometer was tested through a static field rollover test, and the test results show that the hybrid-integrated vacuum microelectronic accelerometer has good performance, with a sensitivity of 3.081 V/g, the non-linearity is 0.84% in the measuring range of −1 g~1 g, the average noise spectrum density value is 36.7 μV/ Hz in the frequency range of 0–200 Hz, the resolution of the vacuum microelectronic accelerometer can reach 1.1 × 10−5 g, and the zero stability reaches 0.18 mg in 24 h.