Design and fabrication of a micromachined silicon accelerometer with thick-film printed PZT sensors

Abstract

An accelerometer fabricated by a combination of screen printing and silicon micromachining is reported. This is the first device of its kind fabricated in this manner. Details of the finite element model (FEM) of the sensor and its method of fabrication are described. Initial results indicate a sensitivity of 16 pC g-1, which compares very favourably with a sensitivity of 0.15 pC g-1 reported for thin-film devices. Experimental results show a good level of agreement with the FEM results. Analysis of the results highlight the need to further improve the mechanical properties and consistency of the thick-film PZT layer.