Capacitive Accelerometer

Capacitive MEMS accelerometer operates based upon capacitance changes in a seismic mass under acceleration. It can sense static and dynamic acceleration on equipment or devices - enforced by human or mechanical forces - and converts this acceleration into electrical currents or voltage. A capacitive accelerometer is also known as a vibration sensor.

A capacitive accelerometer senses and records vibrations produced on a device or surface. It is composed of an oscillator or any stationary component that can store capacitance. When these components move or are moved, the generated capacitance or energy is sensed by the capacitive accelerometer's native sensors. The sensors, in turn, are connected to an electrical circuitry, which measures the intensity and magnitude of the acceleration with respect to the electrical current. Because of their low cost and small size, capacitive MEMS accelerometers often come as surface-mount devices (SMDs) to be directly mounted to printed circuit boards (PCBs). Capacitive MEMS accelerometers are best suited for measuring low-frequency vibration, motion, and steady-state acceleration. Capacitive accelerometers are widely implemented in computational and commercial applications such as airbag deployment sensors in automobiles, human computer interaction (HCI) devices, smartphones and bridge monitoring.