Over-range capacity of a piezoresistive microaccelerometer

Over-range capacity is one of the most important parameters for an accelerometer. Over-range protection has been provided for commercially available micromechanical piezoresistive accelerometers to make them practical for applications. Described in this paper is an extensive analysis on the over-range protection capability for a cantilever beam accelerometer. Also analysed in the paper is the acceleration of a laboratory testing system using a drop hammer scheme for shock accelerations. Based on the theoretical analyses and experimental data, the system has been calibrated and used to provide shock accelerations for experimental testing in the laboratory.

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