A dual-axis liquid-rate microgyroscope using Electro-Conjugate Fluid

The dual-axis liquid-rate gyroscope using Electro-Conjugate Fluid (ECF) proposed here follows a previously proposed single-axis liquid-rate gyroscope using ECF [1], a dielectric "smart fluid" generating a powerful jet flow (ECF jet) under a strong Direct-Current (DC) electric field. Although the proposed gyroscope's sensing principle is based on that of a conventional gas rate sensor [2-4], the gyroscope itself is much more sensitivity because its density is generally higher than that of a gas. The gyroscope is more suitable for a microsensor than a gas rate sensor having a pump with piezoelectric actuator because the proposed gyroscope's pump consists of a pair of tiny electrodes. We fabricated a 40 × 40 × 21 mm³ dual-axis liquid-rate gyroscope prototype applying a single-axis liquid-rate microgyroscope and confirmed performance in experiments. Scale factors for the X and Y-axes measured in the gyroscope are-24 mV/°/s and-21 mV/°/s. Experimental results confirmed the dual-axis liquid-rate gyroscope potential.