Attorney Docket No.

43933-114

MODE-MATCHED SINGLE PROOF-MASS DUAL-AXIS GYROSCOPE AND METHOD OF FABRICATION FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 [001] The present invention relates to dual-axis gyroscopes, and, more specifically, to mode-matched single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscopes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [002] 10 Tri-axial gyroscopes are increasingly used in handheld devices such as smart user interfaces and gaming controllers that require multi-dimensional motion recognition for accurate positioning. A majority of state-of-the-art vibratory gyroscopes utilize separate proof masses for each axis' rate measurement. Having separate proof masses for each axis rate measurement increases the size and mass of a vibratory gyroscope. Although efforts have been made to 15 reduce the size and mass of a vibratory gyroscope, there is an continual desire to make vibratory gyroscopes smaller and lighter. [003] Accordingly, there is a need for vibratory gyroscopes solutions that do not require separate proof masses for each axis' rate measurement. 20 [004] [005] 25 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed towards the design, fabrication, and A hollow-disk pitch-and-roll resonant gyroscope has electrostatically characterization of a high-frequency single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope. tunable in-plane and out-of-plane resonance modes to enable mode-matched operation at ~ 0.9MHz in the presence of process non-idealities such as thickness variations of the SOI wafer. A prototype device demonstrates x- and yaxis rate sensitivity of 127V/deg/sec and 214V/deg/sec, respectively. High quality factors (Q) of ~ 10,000 are observed in vacuum for the in-plane drive and out-of-plane sense resonance modes. The device is implemented using a revised 30 version of the HARPSS process, thereby enabling a single-chip tri-axial implementation when integrated with a yaw disk gyroscope. 1

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[006] [007] 5

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a self-polarized capacitive In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for fabricating a

micromechanical resonator apparatus includes. passive self-polarized micromechanical resonator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [008] 10 [009] [0010] [0011] 15 The present invention is illustratively shown and described in reference to Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a single proof-mass dual-axis Figure2A illustrates an ANSYS simulation model of an in-plane drive Figure 2B illustrates an ANSYS simulation model of an out-of-plane x-axis the accompanying drawing in which: gyroscope according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; resonance mode according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; sense resonance mode according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; [0012] Figure 2C illustrates an ANSYS simulation model of an out-of-plane y-axis sense resonance mode according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 20 [0013] Figures 3A-D is a visual representation of a process of fabricating a dualaxis hollow-disk gyroscope according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; [0014] 25 Figure 4A illustrates an enlarged view of the top electrode separated from the resonator structure shown in Figure 3D in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; [0015] Figure 4B illustrates an enlarged view of the drive electrode separated from the resonator structure shown in Figure 3D in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; [0016] 30 Figure 5 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating the process of fabricating a dual-axis hollow-disk gyroscope as shown in Figures 3A-D according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 2

Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

[0017]

Figure 6 shows an SEM image of the dual-axis gyroscope with diameter

release holes and a selectively-defined electrode area according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; [0018] 5 Figure 7 shows an SEM image of a cross-section of a narrow inner side support and vibrating mass according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; [0019] Figure 8 is a graphical representation of an ANSYS simulation result for thickness and lateral variation of the dual-axis hollow-disk gyroscope according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 10 [0020] Figure 9 is a graphical representation of an ANSYS simulation result for measured sense mode tunability of the dual-axis hollow-disk gyroscope according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; [0021] 15 [0022] Figures 10A-B show graphs illustrating measured rate sensitivity of a dualFigure 11 shows a graph illustrating Allan variance measurement axis gyroscope according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; and according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0023] 20 Technologies herein are directed towards the design, fabrication, and characterization of a high-frequency single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope device for simultaneous dual-axis pitch and roll rate sensing (i.e. x-axis and yaxis). The high frequency of operation and high quality factor of the device reduces the Brownian noise floor to several orders of magnitude less than its low frequency counterparts, allowing the device to maintain a high resolution while 25 increasing its operational bandwidth to approximately 100Hz. The device can employ three in-plane and out-of-plane resonance modes for increased sensitivity that are mode-matched at approximately the same frequency. To realize a high manufacturing yield in the presence of process variations, the device can retain wide-frequency tunability for each mode. A modified version of 30 the HARPSS process is utilized to broaden and enhance the device frequency tunability, improve signal isolation between in-plane drive and out-of-plane sense 3

Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

modes, and minimize the magnitude of the quadrature signal component fed through to the sense electrodes. [0024] 5 The present invention will be more completely understood through the In this description, like numbers refer to similar elements within Within this description, the following description, which should be read in conjunction with the attached drawings. various embodiments of the present invention.

claimed invention will be explained with respect to embodiments. The skilled artisan will readily appreciate that the methods and systems described herein are merely exemplary and that variations can be made without departing from the 10 spirit and scope of the invention. [0025] Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope apparatus 100 may include a resonator 102, which may be formed 15 from a non-piezoelectric material, such as a silicon material. surface that extends around the periphery of the resonator 102. embodiments, the resonator 102 may be hollow and disk-shaped. 20 In various In some In other embodiments, the resonator 102 has a top surface, a bottom surface, and a side

embodiments, the resonator 102 may be solid and/or have a non-disk shape. The resonator 102 may be supported by a handle layer 104 of a silicon-oninsulator substrate. [0026] To realize dual-axis rate sensitivity, the single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope apparatus 100 is designed to utilize an in-plane elliptical drive mode and two orthogonal out-of-plane sense modes, referred to as the x-axis and y25 axis modes, respectively. In order to sense simultaneous dual-axis pitch and roll rate changes, anti-nodes aligned to x-axis and y-axis may be utilized. As such, even-numbered modes can be used for dual-axis pitch and roll rate sensing or pitch and roll angle sensing. Accordingly, even-numbered modes, such as m =2, 4, 6, and the like, may be utilized. 30 In various embodiments, the in-plane elliptical drive mode or wine glass mode can be utilized. In such modes, the in-

Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

plane elliptical drive mode can have four anti-nodes aligned to +X, -X, +Y, -Y direction. [0027] 5 It should be appreciated that the substrate may be made from an In various anisotropic substrate to avoid the quadrature signal component.

embodiments, the Si <100> substrate is utilized because of its periodic elasticity every 90 degrees. By utilizing two modes, one mode can be aligned to the Si <100> direction and the other mode can be aligned to the Si <110> direction. These two modes may be 45 degrees apart from one another. In various embodiments, the mode aligned in the Si <100> direction can have a lower

10

frequency than the other mode aligned in the Si <110> direction, thereby facilitating being matched with other out-of-plane sense mode frequencies. It should be appreciated that [0028] other anisotropic substrates, including Si <110> substrate, may also be utilized. The apparatus 100 may be actuated from a drive-in electrode 112 located A drive-out electrode 114 capacitively coupled to

15

at the Si <100> direction of the substrate that is capacitively coupled to the side surface of the resonator 102. the side surface is configured to monitor the in-plane drive output signal. The inplane drive mode has anti-nodes aligned with the x-axis and y-axis. Applied pitch and roll rotation causes out-of plane coupling, generating differential output

20

currents by way of capacitive gap changes at one or more sense electrodes capacitively coupled to the resonator 102. For the differential sensing of output signals, four sense electrodes, including an x- sense electrode 122, an x+ sense electrode 124, an y- sense electrode 132 and an y+ sense electrode 134 are defined on top of anti-nodes of the out-of-plane modes. Anti-nodes may be

25

defined as points where the amplitude of displacement existing in a standing wave is at a maximum. The anti-nodes of the out-of-plane modes are points where the mode has maximum displacement towards the +Z axis or Z axis . [0029] The single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope apparatus 100 may further include drive tuning electrodes 116, 118, x tuning electrodes 126, 128 and y

30

tuning electrodes 136, 138. These tuning electrodes may be configured to shift the frequency of the modes. In various embodiments, the tuning electrodes are 5

Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

arranged at the anti-nodes of out-of-plane modes so as to tune the frequencies of modes. Explain the highlighted terms and why? [0030] 5 Referring now also to Figures 2A-C, the in-plane drive mode as shown in Figure 2A has anti-nodes aligned with the x-axis and y-axis. Figure 2B illustrates an ANSYS simulation model of out-of-plane x-axis sense resonance modes and Figure 2C illustrates an ANSYS simulation model of out-of-plane y-axis sense resonance modes according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Applied pitch and roll rotation causes out-of-plane coupling, which results in changes in both the vertical capacitive gap between the top x- sense electrode 10 122 and the resonator 102 and the vertical capacitive gap between the top x+ sense electrode 124 and the resonator 102. As the capacitive gaps change, differential output currents are generated at the top x- sense electrode 122 and x+ sense electrode 124 as well as at the top y- sense electrode 132 and y+ sense electrode 134. Q: Explain why the y-axis electrodes also experience 15 change. Due to the anisotropic nature of the Si <100> substrate, the anti-nodes of the x-axis mode are aligned to nodes of the y-axis mode and vice versa. This results in inherently small cross-axis sensitivity. [0031] 20 The frequencies of the in-plane drive modes and out-of-plane sense modes are designed to match at a specific device dimension. However, in order to address variations in the thickness of the SOI wafer along with the inevitable process variations caused by imperfections in the fabrication process and its subsequent initial frequency split, the in-plane frequency tuning electrodes 116, 118 and out-of-plane frequency tuning electrodes 126, 128, 136, 138 are selectively-defined during the fabrication process. The two drive tuning 25 electrodes 116, 118 located at the anti-nodes of the in-plane drive mode tune the drive mode frequency with minimal effect on the out-of-plane sense mode frequencies. For the out-of-plane sense mode tuning, the x tuning electrodes 126, 128 and y tuning electrodes 136, 138 may be arranged 90 apart to exert balanced electrostatic force. 30 [0032] To tune each resonance mode with minimal interference between the modes, the size of the vertical capacitive air gaps and the lateral capacitive air 6

Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

gaps are carefully selected. The top x-axis rate sensing and tuning electrodes 122, 124, 126, 128 and the y-axis rate sensing tuning electrodes 132, 134, 136, 138, each have narrow vertical capacitive air gaps of approximately 300nm with respect to the resonator 102, but have relatively wide lateral capacitive air gap 5 sizes of approximately 5m from the resonator 102. [0033] The side drive mode electrodes, including the drive-in electrode 112, the drive-out electrode 114, and the tuning electrodes 116, 118 may be separated from the resonator 102 by narrow lateral capacitive gaps of approximately 200nm but relatively wide vertical capacitive gaps of approximately 5m from the 10 resonator 102. By having such significant capacitive gap size differences between the lateral capacitive gaps and the vertical capacitive gaps, movements of the resonator may only be detected along axis, thereby minimizing cross-axis sensitivity. By taking advantage of the significant gap size difference, the sense tuning electrodes 126, 128, 136, 138, which have much smaller vertical 15 capacitive gaps than lateral capacitive gaps, can tune the frequencies associated with out-of-plane modes without causing an interference to the frequencies associated with in-plane modes. Similarly, the drive tuning electrodes 116, 118 have much smaller lateral capacitive gaps than vertical capacitive gaps, thereby allowing the drive tuning electrodes 116, 118 to tune the frequencies associated 20 with in-plane modes without causing an interference to the frequencies associated with out-of-plane modes. [0034] It should be appreciated that the vertical capacitive air gaps between the top electrodes and the resonator of approximately 300nm may allow the gyroscope apparatus 100 to handle a polarization voltage (Vp) larger than 15V 25 DC. Reducing the vertical capacitive air gaps to significantly less than 300nm is possible but may adversely affect the operation of the gyroscope apparatus 100. In particular, the gyroscope apparatus 100 may experience pull in at Vp levels that are less than 15V, which may be undesirable. [0035] 30 The number, width, spanned angle, and gap size of the tuning electrodes 116, 118, 126, 128, 136, 138 are optimized to achieve more than 12kHz tunability to compensate for 0.3m thickness variation with less than 30V DC 7

Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

voltage. In addition, the selectively-defined electrode configuration of the sense electrodes 122, 124, 132. 134 can reduce the in-plane drive mode quadrature component seen at the out-of-plane sensing electrodes. In some embodiments, the cross-axis sensitivity can be reduced by employing quadrature cancellation 5 electrodes to align the anti-nodes of sense modes to the nodes of drive mode. Due to fabrication process variations, the anti-nodes of out-of-plane modes may not be aligned with the anti-nodes of in-plane drive modes. The misalignment of the nodes associated with the sense modes and the drive modes is the source of cross-axis sensitivity. 10 Therefore, with the use of quadrature cancellation electrodes, the resonant modes may be aligned to the proper orientation using electrostatic force provided by the quadrature cancellation electrodes. [0036] Currently, silicon bulk acoustic resonators are primarily fabricated using the conventional HARPSS process to achieve very high aspect-ratio air-gaps for electrostatic transduction. In the conventional HARPSS process, trenches etched 15 in silicon using the DRIE process to define the dimensions of the silicon bulk acoustic resonator, while a subsequent thermally grown silicon dioxide sacrificial layer defines the air-gap between the silicon bulk acoustic resonator and the drive/sense polysilicon electrodes. [0037] 20 Referring now to Figures 3A-D, a visual representation of a process for fabricating a dual-axis hollow-disk gyroscope 100 in accordance with various embodiments is shown. The process starts from creating and patterning initial thick thermal oxide layer 312 on a Si <100> Silicon-on-Insulator substrate 310. The Silicon-on-Insulator substrate 310 may include a first silicon layer 302 separated from a second silicon layer 306 by a buried oxide layer 304. In one 25 embodiment, the Silicon-on-Insulator substrate 310 is approximately 41m thick. The second silicon layer 306 is etched through using a thermal oxide mask 312, and a first Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD) Sacrificial Oxide (SACOX) layer 314 is deposited, as shown in Figure 3A. In some embodiments, the first layer of sacrificial oxide can be approximately 200nm thick. 30 [0038] A first polysilicon layer 320 may then be deposited after boron doping and etched back from the surface. The trench-refilled first polysilicon layer 320 is 8

Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

etched from the area where the top electrodes are supposed to be defined, as shown by the gaps in Figure 3B. [0039] 5 A 3m thick LPCVD oxide layer 330 is deposited to refill the empty trenches and patterned. A 300nm thick second LPCVD SACOX layer 334 is deposited and patterned to create a vertical capacitive air gap, as shown in Figure 3C. The second polysilicon layer 340 may then be deposited, borondoped, annealed and patterned to finalize the structure. The batch is finished by release in Hydrofluoric Acid with timed control, leaving both a vertical capacitive air gap between the top electrode, shown as top electrode 352, and the 10 resonator 102 and a lateral capacitive air gap between the side electrode, shown as electrode 350, and the resonator 102, as shown in Figure 3D. [0040] Figure 4A illustrates an enlarged view of the top electrode separated from the resonator structure shown in Figure 3D in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. 15 [0041] Figure 4A illustrates an enlarged view of the drive electrode separated from the resonator structure shown in Figure 3D in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. [0042] 20 Figure 5 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating the process of fabricating a single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope as shown in Figures 3A-D in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. A routine 500 begins at operation 502, where . [0043] [0044] 25 From operation 404, the routine 400 proceeds to operation 406, where the Through thermal oxidation, annealed resonator 102 is thermally oxidized.

capacitive air-gaps 110 may be defined between the resonant body member 104A and electrodes 112, 114. It should be appreciated that commonly known methods of thermal oxidation may be utilized. From operation 406, the routine 400 proceeds to operation 408, where a layer of the thermally oxidized surface 106 of the resonant body member 104A may be removed such that the charge

30

traps 108 are exposed. In various embodiments, a layer of the thermally oxidized

Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

surface 106 of the body member 104 may be removed by exposing the resonator 102 to hydrofluoric acid (HF). [0045] 5 From operation 408, the routine 400 proceeds to operation 410, where an In this way, the external external charge is injected into the resonator 102.

charge may permeate through the resonator 102 and the body member 104 and fill one or more of the charge traps 108. From operation 410, the routine 400 ends. [0046] Referring now to Figures 5 and 6, SEM images of the dual-axis gyroscope 100 with diameter release holes and a selectively-defined electrode area as well

10

as a cross-section of a narrow inner side support and resonator 102 are shown. The side electrodes, used for driving and drive mode tuning have a narrow lateral capacitive air gap of approximately 200nm. In contrast, the top electrodes used for sensing and sense mode tuning bridge have lateral capacitive air gaps that may be wider than 5m. The top electrodes, however, have very narrow vertical

15

capacitive gaps of approximately 300nm, as shown in Figure 6. [0047] Figure 7 is a graphical representation of an ANSYS simulation result for thickness and lateral variation of the dual-axis hollow-disk gyroscope according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In order to predict drive and sense mode frequency shift under process variation, ANSYS simulations are

20

performed using a process-biased model. Simulations of the frequency difference between out-of-plane sense modes and in-plane drive mode reveal +2.15kHz/0.1m thickness variance and -5.33kHz/0.1m lateral dimension variance, as shown in Figure 7. Even though substrate thickness variation can be offset by giving lateral bias as shown in the plot 700, having a large electrostatic

25

tuning is desirable for improving the manufacturing yield. [0048] Figure 8 is a graphical representation of an ANSYS simulation result for measured sense mode tunability of the dual-axis hollow-disk gyroscope 100 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 8 illustrates the measured frequency tunability of drive mode using applied DC voltages up to

30

30V. Drive mode frequency tunability of approximately 14.2kHz can be observed by grounding the Drive tuning electrodes 116, 118 and simply increasing DC 10

Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

polarization voltage (VP). The tuned frequency verifies mode-matched operation comparable to 0.3m thickness variation during the fabrication process. Out-ofplane sense mode tunability using DC tuning voltages of up to 15V can be measured and are plotted as shown in Figure 8. Both in- and out-of-plane tuning 5 behaviors exhibit large tunability with little cross-mode tuning. [0049] Along with the 'nearly-independent' large frequency tunability, the selectively defined gap sizes result in significant signal strength differences between the side electrodes and top electrodes with the given in-plane and outof-plane motion of the vibrating resonator 102. When signal is driven from drive10 in electrode 112, signal observed from sense electrodes 122, 124, 132, 134 exhibits more than 10dB lower signal than from drive-out electrode 114. A similar response may be observed when the device is actuated from x+ electrode 124 and readout from the side electrodes 112, 114 and the top electrodes 122, 132, 134 simultaneously. 15 [0050] In one embodiment, the quality factors for the drive, x- and y-axis modes can be approximately 9.7k, 13k and 10k under split-mode conditions, respectively. Vacuum pressure was varied from 0.1Bar to 1mBar, resulting in Q factor changes of 7.2%, 16.5%, and 15.12% for the Drive mode, X-axis mode, and Y-axis mode, respectively. 20 [0051] Figures 9A-B show graphs illustrating Measured rate sensitivity of an diameter rate can (100) be Si dual-axis gyroscope according to various and Scale factors for X-axis and Y-axis 127.4V/deg/sec/electrode 800 m rotation 25

embodiments of the present disclosure.

approximately

213.8V/deg/sec/electrode with cross-axis sensitivity of 25.2% and 20.1%, respectively. The cross-axis sensitivity can be reduced by employing quadrature cancellation electrodes to align the anti-nodes of sense modes to drive mode. [0052] Figure 10 shows a graph illustrating Allan variance measurement according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The Allan variance measurements may show bias drift of approximately 0.18deg/sec and 30 0.30deg/sec for X-axis mode and Y-axis mode, respectively.

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Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

A 0.9MHz single-proof-mass pitch-and-roll hollow-disk gyroscope is presented. The high frequency device is designed and fabricated using an improved HARPSS process, which enables large frequency tunability and improves signal isolation between in-plane modes and out-of-plane modes of the gyroscope 100 by selectively defining 5vertical and lateral capacitive air gaps. In addition, the Quality factor of the gyroscope is relatively insensitive to pressure changes, such as within the range of 0.1Bar to 1mBar. This allows for low-cost packaging and stable device operation. Table 1 Device parameter Operation frequency Device thickness Capacitive air gap Tunability Theoretical Brownian noise floor Measured rate sensitivity Allan bias stability Measured quality factor 10 The present invention is illustratively described above in reference to the disclosed embodiments. Various modifications and changes may be made to the disclosed embodiments by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. 15 What is claimed is: Value 872kHz (Measured) 898kHz (ANSYS) 40m 200nm for horizontal transduction 300nm for vertical transduction 14.2kHz for drive mode 4kHz for sense modes 0.024deg/sec/Hz 127.4V//sec/electrode for X-mode 213.8V//sec/electrode for Y-mode 0.18/sec for X-mode 0.30/sec for Y-mode 9.7k, 13k, 10k for Drive, X- and Y-mode, respectively summarizes performance parameters of an example hollow-disk gyroscope 100.

Table 1: Performance of measured dual-axis gyroscope

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Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

CLAIMS
1.

A single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope apparatus comprising a resonant body

member capacitively coupled to at least one first electrode by a first lateral capacitive 5gap substantially smaller than a first vertical capacitive gap and capacitively coupled to at least one second electrode by a second vertical capacitive gap substantially smaller than a second lateral capacitive gap.

102. 3.

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the proof-mass is a hollow disk. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the proof-mass is made from an anisotropic

substrate. 154. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first electrode configured to actuate the

apparatus is located at a <100> direction of Silicon substrate. 5. 20

6.

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first electrode is a drive electrode and the

second electrode is a sense electrode. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to utilize an in-

plane elliptical mode, a first orthogonal out-of-plane sense mode orthogonal to the inplane elliptical mode, and a second orthogonal out-of-plane sense mode orthogonal to the first orthogonal out-of-plane sense mode and the in-plane elliptical mode. 25
7.

The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one second electrode comprises

four sense electrodes defined on top of anti-nodes of out-of-plane modes. 308. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the in-plane drive mode has anti-nodes

aligned with the out-of-plane modes.

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Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

9.

The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the anti-nodes of the first out-of-plane mode

are aligned with the modes of the second out-of-plane mode and the anti-nodes of the second out-of-plane mode are aligned with the modes of the first out-of-plane mode. 510. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the frequency of the in-plane drive mode, the

first orthogonal out-of-plane sense mode, and the second orthogonal out-of-plane sense mode match at a specific device dimension.
11.

The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising an in-plane frequency tuning

10electrode located at an anti-node of the in-plane drive mode.

12.

The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising four out-of-plane frequency tuning

electrodes separated from one another by approximately 90 degrees. 1513. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first lateral capacitive gap is approximately

200nm.
14.

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second lateral capacitive gap is

approximately 300nm. 20
15.

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first vertical capacitive gap and the second

lateral capacitive gap is 5m.

16.

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising quadrature cancellation electrodes. A single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope apparatus comprising a resonant body

25
17.

member formed from a non-piezoelectric material.

18.

A self polarized capacitive micro-mechanical resonator apparatus comprising: a .

30

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Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

19.

A method for fabricating a single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope apparatus A) forming a resonant body member from a non-piezoelectric material; B) creating a plurality of charge traps on a surface of the resonator body; and

comprising:

5
20.

C) providing a charge to the resonator body. A method for creating fabricating a single proof-mass dual-axis gyroscope A) forming a resonant body member from a non-piezoelectric material;

apparatus comprising: 10 B) diffusing nitrogen into the surface of the resonant body member; C) allowing a thermal oxidation layer to form adjacent the nitrogen diffused surface of the resonant body member; D) forming at least one or more electrodes adjacent the thermal oxidation layer; and 15 E) removing the thermal oxidation layer to create air gaps between the at least one or more electrodes and the nitrogen diffused surface of the resonant body member.

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Attorney Docket No. 43933-114

ABSTRACT The present invention is directed towards a self-polarized capacitive micromechanical resonator apparatus and fabrication method. The apparatus includes a body member capable of retaining a polarization charge in the absence of a 5polarization voltage source. By creating potential wells or charge traps on the surface of the resonant body member through a nitrogen diffusing process, charges may be trapped in the charge traps. Unless perturbed externally, the charges remain trapped thus enabling a self-polarization technique without the need for any externally applied polarization voltage. 10

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