Abstract: Technology is provided in which, when forming a trench of a narrow width in a thick semiconductor layer, a trench can be formed without the occurrence of semiconductor residue. In this Specification, a semiconductor device in which a trench is formed in a semiconductor layer is disclosed. In the semiconductor layer of the semiconductor device, a compensation pattern which compensates for sudden changes in the width of the trench is formed at a place at which the width of the trench changes suddenly. In the semiconductor layer of the above-described semiconductor device, since a compensation pattern is formed at a place at which the trench width changes suddenly, in the case where forming the trench using a deep RIE method, the occurrence of steep inclined portions arising from semiconductor residue can be prevented. Consequently, when forming, a trench of a narrow width in a thick semiconductor layer, the occurrence of semiconductor residue can be prevented.

Abstract: The micro device includes a support substrate, and a movable structure configured to move with respect to the support substrate. At least one of the support substrate and the movable structure is provided with at least one protrusion protruding towards the other of the support substrate and the movable structure. Further, a base portion extending into the one of the support substrate and the movable structure is provided integrally with the at least one protrusion. With this configuration, the protrusion is securely held by the base portion, and the detachment of the protrusion can therefore be prevented even after repeated collisions between the support substrate and the movable structure via the protrusion.

Abstract: An apparatus with a second movable portion that moves along an x-axis direction and a z-axis direction and a first movable portion that only moves along the z-axis direction is disclosed. The apparatus is provided with a fixed portion fixed to a support portion, a plurality of first spring portions connected to the fixed portion, a first movable portion connected to the plurality of first spring portions, a second spring portion connected to the first movable portion, and a second movable portion connected to the second spring portion. A spring constant of each of the plurality of first spring portions in the z-axis direction is lower than spring constants of each of the plurality of first spring portions in the x-axis and a y-axis directions respectively, and a spring constant of the second spring portion in the x-axis direction is lower than spring constants of the second spring portion in the y-axis and the z-axis directions respectively.

Abstract: A sensor system includes a first sensing device that includes a sensor, and first and second surrounding portions that surround the sensor at least partially, a second sensing device that comprises a sensor, and first and second surrounding portions that surround the sensor at least partially, wherein at least one of a combination of shapes of the first and second surrounding portions of the respective first and second sensing devices and a combination of physical properties of the first and second surrounding portions of the respective first and second sensing devices is configured such that a detection characteristic of the first sensing device is different from a detection characteristic of the second sensing device.

Abstract: Provided are multiple normal stress detection sensor units capable of detecting a normal stress, and a sheet layer portion. The sheet layer portion includes an exterior sheet layer portion, a force detection sheet layer portion incorporating normal stress detection units, and an intermediary layer sandwiched between the exterior sheet layer portion and the force detection sheet layer portion. The exterior sheet layer portion and the force detection sheet layer portion include multiple protrusions protruding in directions opposed to each other, and are disposed such that the protrusions engage each other with the intermediary layer interposed therebetween. Each normal stress detection sensor unit includes a central portion detection sensor device disposed immediately below a central portion of the protrusion provided on the force detection sheet portion, and at least two edge detection sensor devices disposed immediately below edge portions of the protrusion provided on the force detection sheet portion.

Abstract: A touch sensor system includes buses, a plurality of touch sensor devices disposed on the buses, and an information integrating device that is connected to all the buses and integrates information from the touch sensor device. The touch sensor device includes a sensor unit and a signal processing unit that transmits a sensor data signal generated by processing an analog sensor signal to the information integrating device through the bus. The signal processing unit includes a digital converting unit, a threshold evaluating unit that gives a start permission of the signal process when a sensor value exceeds a preset threshold, an ID adding unit that adds a transmitter identification number to the sensor signal, and a data transmitting unit that outputs the sensor data signal to a signal line of the bus. Fast responses are made possible without increasing the amount of data and host processing load while including many touch sensor elements.

Abstract: Provided is a technique for packaging a sensor structure having a contact sensing surface and a signal processing LSI that processes a sensor signal. The sensor structure has the contact sensing surface and sensor electrodes. The signal processing integrated circuit is embedded in a semiconductor substrate. The sensor structure and the semiconductor substrate are bonded by a bonding layer, forming a sensor device as a single chip. The sensor electrodes and the integrated circuit are sealed inside the sensor device, and the sensor electrodes and external terminals of the integrated circuit are led out to the back surface of the semiconductor substrate through a side surface of the semiconductor substrate.

Abstract: Beams 70a, 70b, 70c and, 70d of an angular velocity sensor 100 is provided with a folded type beam 73 that has a spring constant which is smaller along the excitation direction (x-axis direction) than along a detecting direction (y-axis direction), and a straight type beam 75 that has a spring constant which is smaller along the detecting direction (y-axis direction) than along the excitation direction (x-axis direction). The folded type beam 73 is arranged closer to the mass portion 40 than the straight type beam 75. The detecting member 60 is disposed on a farther beam portion of the beam 70b, wherein the farther beam portion is arranged farther away from the mass portion 40 than the folded type beam 73.

Abstract: A structure having a first movable portion that is displaced perpendicular to a substrate surface and a second movable portion that is displaced parallel to the substrate surface is realized by a laminated structure, and manufacturing cost is reduced by employing a nested structure for the first movable portion and the second movable portion. The laminated structure is provided with a frame-like outer movable portion and an inner movable portion housed within the frame of the outer movable portion. A y spring is connected to the outer movable portion, and the outer movable portion is displaceably supported in a y-axis direction by the y spring at a height apart from an outer substrate. A z spring is connected to the inner movable portion, and the inner movable portion is displaceably supported in a z-axis direction by the z spring at a height apart from the outer substrate.

Abstract: In a MEMS structure, a first trench which penetrates the first layer, the second layer and the third layer is formed, and a second trench which penetrates the fifth layer, the forth layer and the third layer is formed. The first trench forms a first part of an outline of the movable portion in a view along the stacked direction. The second trench forms a second part of the outline of the movable portion in the view along the stacked direction. At least a part of the first trench overlaps with the first extending portion in the view along the stacked direction.

Abstract: A sensor unit has a reference base. An acceleration sensor block and angular velocity sensor support rods are arranged on the reference base, using a bottom face and one side face of the reference base as reference faces. Three acceleration sensors, which detect accelerations that act in the directions in which an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis extend, are fitted to three faces of the acceleration sensor block, respectively. Three angular velocity sensors, which detect angular velocities about the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis, are fitted to boards that are fitted, via rubber bushings serving as vibration-proofing rubber members, to the angular velocity sensor support rods with screws, respectively.

Abstract: An angular velocity detected by an angular velocity sensor (10) is integrated by a small angle matrix calculator (12) and a matrix adding calculator (14), and then restored as a posture angle (angular velocity posture angle) by a matrix posture angle calculator (16). A posture matrix is calculated by a tilt angle calculator (22) and an acceleration matrix calculator (24) and an acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor (20) is restored as a posture angle (acceleration posture angle) by a matrix posture angle calculator (26). Low pass filters (18, 28) each extract a low range component, the difference between the two is calculated by a differencer (30), and only the drift amount is extracted. A subtracter (32) removes the drift amount from the angular velocity posture angle and the result is output from an output device (34). In addition, a posture angle matrix calculator (36) converts the result to a posture matrix, which it feeds back to the matrix adding calculator (14).

Abstract: A sensor system includes a first sensing device that includes a sensor, and first and second surrounding portions that surround the sensor at least partially, a second sensing device that comprises a sensor, and first and second surrounding portions that surround the sensor at least partially, wherein at least one of a combination of shapes of the first and second surrounding portions of the respective first and second sensing devices and a combination of physical properties of the first and second surrounding portions of the respective first and second sensing devices is configured such that a detection characteristic of the first sensing device is different from a detection characteristic of the second sensing device.

Abstract: The numbers of pulses of the CW signal and the CCW signal of the optical fiber gyro during a predetermined sampling duration are detected by samplers. An abnormality determiner determines that the optical fiber gyro is normal if at least one of the pulse numbers is greater than or equal to a threshold value. If both pulse numbers are smaller than the threshold value, the abnormality determiner determines that an abnormality, such as a circuit break, a bad connection, etc., has occurred, and outputs the result of determination to an output unit. The abnormality determiner may determine an abnormality on the basis of the presence/absence of quantization noise.

Abstract: An apparatus with a second movable portion that moves along an x-axis direction and a z-axis direction and a first movable portion that only moves along the z-axis direction is disclosed. The apparatus is provided with a fixed portion fixed to a support portion, a plurality of first spring portions connected to the fixed portion, a first movable portion connected to the plurality of first spring portions, a second spring portion connected to the first movable portion, and a second movable portion connected to the second spring portion. A spring constant of each of the plurality of first spring portions in the z-axis direction is lower than spring constants of each of the plurality of first spring portions in the x-axis and a y-axis directions respectively, and a spring constant of the second spring portion in the x-axis direction is lower than spring constants of the second spring portion in the y-axis and the z-axis directions respectively.

Abstract: The micro device includes a support substrate, and a movable structure configured to move with respect to the support substrate. At least one of the support substrate and the movable structure is provided with at least one protrusion protruding towards the other of the support substrate and the movable structure. Further, a base portion extending into the one of the support substrate and the movable structure is provided integrally with the at least one protrusion. With this configuration, the protrusion is securely held by the base portion, and the detachment of the protrusion can therefore be prevented even after repeated collisions between the support substrate and the movable structure via the protrusion.

Abstract: An angular velocity detected by an angular velocity sensor (10) is integrated by a small angle matrix calculator (12) and a matrix adding calculator (14), and then restored as a posture angle (angular velocity posture angle) by a matrix posture angle calculator (16). A posture matrix is calculated by a tilt angle calculator (22) and an acceleration matrix calculator (24) and an acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor (20) is restored as a posture angle (acceleration posture angle) by a matrix posture angle calculator (26). Low pass filters (18, 28) each extract a low range component, the difference between the two is calculated by a differencer (30), and only the drift amount is extracted. A subtracter (32) removes the drift amount from the angular velocity posture angle and the result is output from an output device (34). In addition, a posture angle matrix calculator (36) converts the result to a posture matrix, which it feeds back to the matrix adding calculator (14).

Abstract: During robot operation, a CPU (22) of a sensor unit (10) transmits the sensor output of a sensor (15) to a robot CPU (12) during a transmission period within a control period. During the remaining reception period within the control period, the robot CPU (22) transmits update parameters to the robot CPU (12). The CPU (22) receives these update parameters, and writes them in a second region, among the storage regions of a RAM (16), which is different from a first region in which the default parameters are set. And, upon further receipt of a update command from the robot CPU (22), the CPU (22) performs processing to change over the parameters from the default to the update parameters which have been stored in the second region.

Abstract: An angular sensor (10) is provided in a mobile body. A first setter (14) performs determination regarding the standstill state on the basis of whether or not the variation width of the angular speed is less than or equal to a predetermined value. A standstill determiner (20) determines whether or not the standstill state has continued beyond a determination time. An n?i sum-total averaging unit (34) calculates a sum-total average of (n?i) number of pieces of data obtained by excluding, from n number of pieces of data input during a period determined as a continuation of the standstill state, i number of pieces of data that are output immediately before the end timing of the period, and determines it as a zero-point offset. A zero-point corrector (36) performs the zero-point correction of the output value of the angular speed sensor (10), and outputs the corrected value to an output unit (28).

Abstract: Communication is performed between a sensor unit (10) and a robot CPU (12) by using a serial data line (14). A variable length data format includes a transfer size section, a command section, a transfer pattern section, a measurement data section, and a CRC section; and, along with increasing and decreasing the number of types of data in the measurement data section, the type of this data is stipulated by a transfer pattern section. By reducing the number of types of the data, the length of the data is shortened, thus ensuring the communication speed. Furthermore, the measurement times of the sensor unit (10) are accurately managed by the robot CPU (12), by transmitting time stamp data from the robot CPU (12), and by transmitting time stamp+time count data from the sensor unit (10).