Analysis of a segmented annular coplanar capacitive tilt sensor with increased sensitivity

Abstract

An investigation of a segmented annular coplanar capacitor is presented. We focus on its theoretical model, and a mathematical expression of the capacitance value is derived by solving a Laplace equation with Hankel transform. The finite element method is employed to verify the analytical result. Different control parameters are discussed, and each contribution to the capacitance value of the capacitor is obtained. On this basis, we analyze and optimize the structure parameters of a segmented coplanar capacitive tilt sensor, and three models with different positions of the electrode gap are fabricated and tested. The experimental result shows that the model (whose electrode-gap position is 10 mm from the electrode center) realizes a high sensitivity: 0.129 pF/˚ with a non-linearity of <0.4% FS (full scale of ±40̊). This finding offers plenty of opportunities for various measurement requirements in addition to achieving an optimized structure in practical design.