Electrochemical fluid-filled inertial sensor (Molecular Electronic Transducers
Inertial sensors (e.g. accelerometer) are widely used in consumer electronics (e.g. smartphones), aerospace (e.g. drones), automotive (e.g. airbag ejection) and other industries. Most of them are Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), a tiny mass-spring device. They are small, cheap compared to the large machined sensor but the performance is compromised due to their small proof-mass and capacitive measuring mechanism.
Therefore, we are developing the electrochemical fluid-filled inertial sensor that has no moving parts, a large liquid proof-mass, a good signal-to-noise ratio, and low power consumption. It will be an ideal complement to the existing MEMS targeting low frequency, low cost and high-performance sensing.
So far, the electrochemical tilt sensor has demonstrated a resolution better than the existing MEMS tilt sensor. Also, the accelerometer and gyroscope utilizing the electrochemical sensing mechanism are under development.