Fabrication and Characterization of an Improved Micro Inductosyn

Abstract

The standard linear Inductosyn ® system consists of two measurement elements, a scale and a slider. The stationary scale contains a single meander winding, while the moving slider has two meander windings for sensing. Unlike the standard Inductosyn ® , a second generation micro Inductosyn ® system has four sensing windings, which enables to correct a wedge shaped air gap between scale and slide due to a misalignment occurring during the final assembly process. As its first generation micro Inductosyn ® predecessor, it features magnetic flux guides not found in the standard Inductosyn ® system to improve coupling. The micro displacement sensor was fabricated using Micro Electro-mechanical System (MEMS) technology. The sensor components, such as meander windings and flux guides, were fabricated by electrodeposition. Moreover, PECVD was used to create an insulating layer between these components. In order to evaluate the system, a mechanical test fixture and an electronic measurement system were created.