INTEGRATED MICRO-GYROSCOPE

MICRO-ELECTRONIC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVE RECENTLY BEEN APPLIED TO PRODUCE NOVEL MICRO-MECHANICAL DEVICES SUCH AS MOTORS, SENSORS, AND ACTUATORS. THEIR SMALL SIZE AND EASY INTEGRATION WITH MICROELECTRONICS INVITE INNOVATIVE RESEARCH, BUT THUS FAR FEW USEFUL APPLICATION CONCEPTS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED. ONE DEVICE WITH WIDESPREAD APPLICATION WOULD BE AN ELECTRICALLY SUSPENDED MICRO-GYROSCOPE. THE MOTOR, SENSOR, SUSPENSION, AND CONTROL AND INTERFACE ELECTRONICS COULD BE PACKAGED ON A SINGLE CHIP. THE DEVICES COULD BE PRODUCED FOR LOW COST IN LARGE QUANTITIES AND SEE WIDESPREAD USE IN INTEGRATED NAVIGATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES, PERSONNEL, OR PROJECTILES. A MICRO-GYROSCOPE MIGHT ALSO MAKE VERY SMALL AUTONOMOUS AIRPLANES, GROUND VEHICLES, OR SATELLITES FOR TERRESTRIAL, PLANETARY, OR SPACE EXPLORATION POSSIBLE. THE FIRST PHASE OF THE PROGRAM WILL INVOLVE DEVELOPMENT OF MICROMACHINE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS TOOLS AND THE USE OF THESE TOOLS TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE GYROSCOPE CONFIGURATIONS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BASELINE DESIGN FOR THE MECHANICS, SENSORS, ACTUATORS, AND ELECTRONICS. A PHASE II EFFORT WOULD INCLUDE DETAILED DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND TESTING OF A PROTOTYPE MICROGYROSCOPE. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - AN INTEGRATED MICRO-GYROSCOPE WOULD HAVE TREMENDOUS COMMERCIAL AND MILITARY APPLICATION IN MANY GUIDANCE AND CONTROL APPLICATIONS. THE ADVANCEMENT OF MICRO-FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY WOULD ALSO ASSIST THE DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER USEFUL MICRO-DEVICES. KEY WORDS - MICRO-MACHINE, GYROSCOPE, ELECTRIC SUSPENSION.