AN INTEGRATED MICRO-GYROSCOPE

MICRO-ELECTRONIC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVE RECENTLY BEENAPPLIED TO PRODUCE SUCH NOVEL MICRO-MECHANICAL DEVICES AS MOTORS, SENSORS, AND ACTUATORS. THEIR SMALL SIZE AND THEIR EASY INTEGRATION WITH MICRO-ELECTRONICS INVITE INNOVATIVE RESEARCH, BUT, THUS FAR, FEW USEFUL APPLICATION CONCEPTS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED. ONE DEVICE WITH WIDESPREAD APPLICATIONWOULD BE AN ELECTRICALLY SUSPENDED MICRO-GYROSCOPE. THE MOTOR, SENSOR, SUSPENSION, CONTROL, AND INTERFACE ELECTRONICS COULD BE PACKAGED ON A SINGLE CHIP. THE DEVICESCOULD BE PRODUCED IN LARGE QUANTITIES AT A LOW COST WITH WIDESPREAD USE IN INTEGRATED NAVIGATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR END EFFECTORS, VEHICLES, OR PROJECTILES. A MICRO-GYROSCOPE MIGHT ALSO ALLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF VERY SMALL AUTONOMOUS AIRPLANES, GROUND VEHICLES, OR SATELLITES FOR TERRESTRIAL, PLANETARY, OR SPACE EXPLORATION. THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS PROJECT WILL INVOLVE DEVELOPMENT OF MICRO-MACHINE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS TOOLS, THEIR USE TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE GYROSCOPE CONFIGURATIONS, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BASELINE DESIGN FOR THE MECHANICS, SENSORS, ACTUATORS, AND ELECTRONICS. A PHASE II EFFORT WILLINCLUDE DETAILED DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND TESTING OF A PROTOTYPE MICRO-GYROSCOPE. MICRO-ELECTRONIC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVE RECENTLY BEENAPPLIED TO PRODUCE SUCH NOVEL MICRO-MECHANICAL DEVICES AS MOTORS, SENSORS, AND ACTUATORS. THEIR SMALL SIZE AND THEIR EASY INTEGRATION WITH MICRO-ELECTRONICS INVITE INNOVATIVE RESEARCH, BUT, THUS FAR, FEW USEFUL APPLICATION CONCEPTS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED. ONE DEVICE WITH WIDESPREAD APPLICATIONWOULD BE AN ELECTRICALLY SUSPENDED MICRO-GYROSCOPE. THE MOTOR, SENSOR, SUSPENSION, CONTROL, AND INTERFACE ELECTRONICS COULD BE PACKAGED ON A SINGLE CHIP. THE DEVICESCOULD BE PRODUCED IN LARGE QUANTITIES AT A LOW COST WITH WIDESPREAD USE IN INTEGRATED NAVIGATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR END EFFECTORS, VEHICLES, OR PROJECTILES. A MICRO-GYROSCOPE MIGHT ALSO ALLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF VERY SMALL AUTONOMOUS AIRPLANES, GROUND VEHICLES, OR SATELLITES FOR TERRESTRIAL, PLANETARY, OR SPACE EXPLORATION. THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS PROJECT WILL INVOLVE DEVELOPMENT OF MICRO-MACHINE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS TOOLS, THEIR USE TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE GYROSCOPE CONFIGURATIONS, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BASELINE DESIGN FOR THE MECHANICS, SENSORS, ACTUATORS, AND ELECTRONICS. A PHASE II EFFORT WILLINCLUDE DETAILED DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND TESTING OF A PROTOTYPE MICRO-GYROSCOPE.