.

Sensors and Actuators 73 1999 6873

A novel silicon surface micromachining angle sensor
Jorg R. Kaienburg
)
, Ralf Schellin
1

Automotie Equipment Diision 8, Department K8rSTZ, Robert Bosch Gmbtt, POB 1342, D-72703 Reutlingen, Germany
Received 27 April 1998; accepted 7 October 1998
Abstract
A novel angle sensor is reported: in contrast to other angle detection sensors, this sensor is completely based on silicon surface
micromachining technology. Hence, its fabrication is fully compatible with the fabrication of other surface micromachined sensors, like
accelerometers, yaw rate sensors, etc. The principle of operation of this sensor is based on the well-known Lorentz force in combination
with a differential capacitance sensing technique yielding an accurate, contactless, and therefore, wear-free angle sensor. q1999 Elsevier
Science S.A. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Angle sensor; Surface micromachining technology; Lorentz force
1. Introduction
Due to the requirements on automotive safety and en-
gine control systems, the number and complexity of sensor
w x
applications will increase rapidly in the next years 1 .
Besides acceleration, yaw rate and pressure sensors, pre-
cise and reliable angle measurement is important for auto-
motive systems. Sensors used in the automotive market
have to be resistant to severe conditions. Because of their
wear-freeness, contactless angle sensors are preferred in
this case.
Sensors enabling such a contactless angle detection are
already available. These sensors can be realized using
different signal transformation methods: capacitive pick-up
w x w x
2,3 , the anisotropic magnetoresistance effect 46 , the
w x w x
Hall effect 7,8 , a lateral bipolar magnetotransistor 9 , or
w x
optical encoding 1012 . But some of the transducer

principles do not allow a complete 3608-measurement e.g.,

w x.
Refs. 46 . A strong dependence on temperature is an-
w x.
other problem of some of those sensors e.g., Refs. 79 .
The sensor discussed in this paper enables a precise,
contactless, and wear-free angle detection with a range of
w x
3608 13 . Additionally, the dependence on temperature of
the sensing elements are negligible. The sensor is based on
)
Corresponding author. Tel.: q49-7121-35-4102; Fax: q49-7121-35-
4173; E-mail: joerg.kaienburg@rt.bosch.de
1
Tel.: q49-7121-35-4172; Fax: q49-7121-35-4173; E-mail:
ralf.schellin@rt.bosch.de.
standard surface micromachining technology and was fab-
ricated using the Robert Bosch Gmbtt surface microma-
w x
chining foundry service 14 . Regarding industrial mass
production, this compatibility with other micromachined
sensors, like acceleration and yaw rate sensors, is a very
.
important feature as already mentioned above .
2. Operating principle
In Fig. 1, the sensing element of this sensor is depicted
schematically. Basically, the sensing element consists of a
movable polysilicon structure suspended by two torsion

bars forming a micromachined pendulum structure Figs. 1

.
and 2 . Obviously, position and orientation of the torsion
axis is defined by the torsion bars. As shown in Fig. 1, a
current I, typically 1 mA, flows through the lower part l
fb
of the pendulum. In order to achieve this well-defined path
of the current, a slit was introduced into one side of the
.
structure Fig. 2 . Hence, the current I flows exactly as
shown in Fig. 1.
In the presence of an external, preferably horizontal and

uniaxial magnetic field of flux density B here: about 160

.
mT the resulting Lorentz force F leads to a deflection of
L
the pendulum structure. This deflection is described as the
torsional angle q. According to this deflection, both capac-
.
itors, C and C , change their values Fig. 3 . This can be
1 2
detected capacitively using C and C as sensing capaci-
1 2
0924-4247r99r$ - see front matter q 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
. PII: S0924- 4247 98 00256- 8
( ) J.R. Kaienburg, R. SchellinrSensors and Actuators 73 1999 6873 69
tors. These are formed by two electrodes underneath the

pendulum structure and the pendulum itself Figs. 1 and

.
2 . Using a special charge amplifier in combination with a
.
lock-in amplifier Section 4 , the changes in the capaci-
tances are transformed into an electrical output signal. The

angle a, enclosed by the magnetic field B and the current

I, is the quantity to be measured. It is changed by rotating

the magnetic field around the z-axis.
An improvement of the sensing elements, e.g., lower
resistance, was achieved by attaching them to their torsion
.
bars from the inner side Fig. 2 . The torsion axis of the
pendulum structure shown in Fig. 2 is oriented vertically.
The current is fed by the anchors and torsion bars. The
anchors are contacted electrically by burial conductors
.
LPCVD-Si, Fig. 4 . Both sensing capacitors C and C
1 2
are of a rectangular shape and placed below the pendulum

structure on the right and left hand side, respectively Fig.

.
2 .
In Fig. 4, a detailed view of one torsion bar is shown.
At one end, the torsion bar is attached to an anchor and at

the other end, it is fixed to the sensing element meshed

.
structure . Below the torsion bar, a burial conductor, to
which the anchor is contacted electrically, is visible.
3. Theoretical considerations
The mechanical behaviour of one sensing element is
defined by three torques.
.
i Due to the Lorentz force

F sl I =B 1 .
L f b
the torque

< < < <

M s r =F AIBsin a 2 . .
L L L

results and deflects the pendulum structure, where r is

L
Fig. 1. Schematic view of one sensing element.

2
. Fig. 2. Top view of one sensing element size: 950=750 mm .
the lever of the Lorentz force and a the quantity to be
measured.
.
ii Electrostatic forces between both pairs of electrodes
yield another deflecting torque. In the linear region, it can
be written as

< < < <

M s r = F yF Aq , 3 .
/ el el el ,1 el ,2

where F and F are the electrostatic forces between
el ,1 el ,2

.
the electrodes of both capacitors C , C and r is the
1 2 el
lever of the electrostatic forces. This torque can be ne-
glected in cases of potential differences in the order of 10
mV between the electrodes. Therefore, the current should
be limited to several milliamperes.
.
iii According to the torsions of both torsion bars the
repulsive torque
M s2k q 4 .
q tb
is given, where k is the torsional stiffness of one torsion
tb
bar and is determined by its mechanical properties and
dimensions. The torsional stiffness can be influenced by
altering the width w and length l of the torsion bar; it is
tb tb
w x
expressed by 15 :
b w
3
tb
k s h G , 5 .
tb tb
3 l
tb
where G is the shear modulus, h is the height of the
tb
torsion bar, and b is a factor depending on the cross-sec-
tion of the torsion bar. For a beam of a rectangular
.
cross-section, width w and height h )w b is
tb tb tb
defined as follows:
`
192 w 1 2i y1 h .
tb tb
bs1y tanh p .

5 5
/
h 2 w p
2i y1 . tb tb ls1
6 .
( ) J.R. Kaienburg, R. SchellinrSensors and Actuators 73 1999 6873 70
Fig. 3. Electromechanical transducer principle of one sensing element.
In the linear region, the condition of equilibrium
M sM qM fM 7 .
q el L L
yields:
l
tb
q a A IBsin a . 8 . . .
3
w
tb
C , C , and their difference C yC change their values
1 2 1 2
according to a change of q and a, respectively:
l
tb
C yC A IBsin a . 9 . .
1 2 3
w
tb
The difference C yC can be transformed into a voltage
1 2
.
output signal which can be measured easily Section 4 .
w x
Using only one pendulum angles ag y908; q908
.
can be detected definitely Fig. 7 . Adding a second sens-
ing element identical to the first and mounted mutually
.
perpendicular in plane a 3608-measurement can be per-
formed. This arrangement of two pendulum structures
leads to a 908-phase shift between the output signals of
both pendulum structures. In Fig. 12, the output signals of
such an arrangement are shown. They are very suitable for
a following processing.
4. Circuit description
Fig. 5 depicts a schematic view of a sensor with its
readout circuit. The sensor contains two pendulum struc-
Fig. 4. Scanning electron microscope photo of one torsion bar.
.
tures A, B mounted mutually perpendicular. The neces-
sary current is provided by using a DC-bias U . Further-
DC
more, both sensing elements are supplied with an AC-volt-
age U which is used as a driving high frequency voltage
AC

f 4f , where f is the resonant frequency of the

AC 0 0
.
pendulum structure :
U sU qU 10 .
in DC AC.
The signals are processed by the use of two charge
amplifiers and one differential amplifier per structure.
Hence, C yC and C yC , respectively, can be
1,A 2,A 1,B 2,B
transformed into output voltages
l
tb
U A IBsin a U 11 . .
out , A ,B AC. 3
w
tb
A lock-in amplifier can be used to demodulate U .
out,A,B
5. Technology
Several prototypes were fabricated using the Robert
Bosch Gmbtt surface micromachining foundry service. On
top of a 6
Y
Si-wafer an insulating SiO -layer is grown
2
thermally followed by the deposition of a poly-Si layer
. w x
LPCVD 16 . This layer is structured to be used as lower
.
electrodes and conductors Fig. 6a . Then, a second oxide,
.
the sacrificial layer, is grown and structured Fig. 6b . A
thick poly-Si layer is deposited in an epitaxial reactor
.
so-called EPIPOLY . On top of this EPIPOLY aluminum

is sputtered and patterned to form bonding pads metalliza-

.
tion, Fig. 6c Then, the EPIPOLY is trenched with excel-
lent aspect ratios in depth. Subsequently, the sacrificial
.
layer is etched by the use of a vapor HF Fig. 6d . Next,
Fig. 5. Block diagram of the sensor and its circuit.
( ) J.R. Kaienburg, R. SchellinrSensors and Actuators 73 1999 6873 71
Fig. 6. Process used in the Robert Bosch surface micromachining foundry
service.
the sensors are sealed on wafer level using a special cap
wafer. Finally the sensors are diced.
6. Experimental results
Several sensors with different sensitivities were realized
and characterized. In Fig. 7, an output signal of one
pendulum structure is compared with the simulation re-
sults, whereas in Fig. 8 various output signals of different
Fig. 7. Theory vs. experimentangle measurement with one pendulum
structure.
Fig. 8. Comparison of output signals of different sensing elements with
distinct sensitivities.
. Fig. 9. Sensitivity vs. length l normalized to l .
tb tb,0
sensing elements are compared to each other. Apart from a
slight offset, both curves match very well in Fig. 7. The
differences in magnitude especially at af"908 are caused
by a mismatch in the readout circuit and by the imperfect
symmetry of the pendulum structures. These deviations
between theoretical and experimental results increased for
higher sensitivities. Therefore, the pendulum structures
have to be designed highly symmetrical to obtain the best
matching.
If only one sensing element is used, definite measure-
w x
ments of angles ag y908; q908 are possible. As ex-
pected, the maximum resolution was observed at as08 as
. Fig. 10. Sensitivity vs. width w normalized to w .
tb tb,0
Fig. 11. Comparison of distinct output signals of the same sensing
element which is fed with different currents.
( ) J.R. Kaienburg, R. SchellinrSensors and Actuators 73 1999 6873 72
Table 1
. . SNR and resolution A a vs. current I Das18, as08
w x . . w x I mA SNR a A a 8
1 36:1 0.028
2 75:1 0.013
3 127:1 0.008
operating point. The resolution of the sensor can be im-
proved by either increasing the mechanical sensitivity or
..
by using a higher current Eq. 11 . Fig. 8 compares
different output signals of sensing elements with distinct
sensitivities. Corresponding to Fig. 8, the following resolu-

tions were measured: 0.0258, 0.0298, and 0.0358 operating

.
point: as08, I s1 mA .
On the one hand, it is possible to tune the sensitivity of
one pendulum structure by tailoring the dimensions of the
torsion bars. A variation of w is useful for a coarse
tb
..
tuning Eq. 5 . To enable a fine tuning of the sensitivity,
it is recommended to vary the length l of the torsion
tb
bars. Both possibilities of tuning were investigated experi-
mentally. Fig. 9 shows the sensitivity E with respect to
a
changes of l . The proportionality E Al is obvious. In
tb a tb
Fig. 10, the dependence of E on the width w is shown.
a tb
As expected, a w
y3
-dependence was found. It must be
tb
remarked that both variations lead to a change of the
resulting resistance of the sensing elements. This effect can
be compensated by either adapting the bias U to gain a
DC
constant current or by increasing the resulting resistance
by the use of additional resistors.
On the other hand, varying the current offers a further
possibility of tuning the sensors sensitivities. As predicted
.
by Eq. 11 , the measured output signals are proportional
to I. In Fig. 11, distinct output signals of the same sensing
element carrying different currents are shown. As ex-
pected, an increase of the current I leads to a higher
output signal and to a higher SNR, respectively. It must be
remarked that no change of the noise was observed while
.
varying the current. The resulting resolutions Das18
are listed in Table 1.
Fig. 12 depicts the output signals of a 3608-sensor. Both
.
curves show the expected shape of a cosine U and
out,A
Fig. 12. Full range output signals of a 3608-sensor.
.
sine U , respectively U is of a nearly perfect
out,B out,B
sinusoidal shape with deviations from the theory explained
above. In contrast to U , U is of a less perfect
out,B out,A
shape. This is due to a certain mismatch in the read-out
circuit. The matching of the experimental results with the
theory can be improved by eliminating mismatches in the
readout circuit and, additionally, by optimizing the symme-
try of the pendulum structures.
7. Conclusions
A new angle detection sensor is presented. Several
types of this sensor were realized using surface microma-

chining technology Robert Bosch Gmbtt surface microma-

.
chining foundry service . Different resolutions were ob-
tained by different designs of different sensitivities and
currents, respectively. The best resolution we measured is
.
0.0088 operating point: as08, I s3 mA .
Although the natural range of detectable angles of one
w x
sensing element is limited to ag y908; q908 , an ex-
pansion to a 3608-sensor can be achieved easily by mount-
ing a second and identical sensing element mutually per-
.
pendicular in plane . Then, both output signals show a
phase shift of 908 which is very suitable for a further
signal processing in angle detection applications. This
arrangement of two sensing elements was tested success-
fully.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. B. Maihofer and
M. Lutz for many useful suggestions. Also, the authors are
very grateful to Dr. K. Marx for simulating the magnetic
field and to the wafer fab-team for the fabrication of these
sensors.
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