Design, microfabrication and testing of acceleration microtransducers for automotive applications

An original new design for manufacturing a piezoresistive micro-accelerometer is presented. As resulted from the computer simulations, and, after that, from the functional testing of the accelerometer, the new design provides a good response from the sensor, which reflects in its sensitivity. The device was manufactured by silicon bulk micromachining, using standard microsystems technology. The tests results showed a heterogeneous structure, with good response signals.