Design and modeling of a MEMS accelerometer for a novel Virtual Button user interface

This paper introduces a novel application of MEMS accelerometers in consumer electronics for `Virtual Button' technology. The MEMS accelerometer is designed to measure low-g acceleration and sense tapping motion on a cell phone or a similar handheld device, medical user interface, or harsh environment user interface. In this paper we outline this patent pending application and discusses the modeling and analysis of the accelerometer designed for this purpose. The analytical model results are compared to the FEA simulations showing reasonable agreement. Operating range of 0.5-20 m/s
²
and noise levels of less than 0.124 mg ¿Hz are predicted. A prototype of the accelerometer has been fabricated and test results showed sensing capabilities comparable to those for consumer applications.