Piezoresistive Accelerometer

Piezoresistive Accelerometers design for high frequency, high g shock measurement. Instead of sensing the capacitance changes in the seismic mass, a piezoresistive accelerometer takes advantage of the resistance change of piezoresistive materials to covert mechanical strain to a DC output voltage. Most of the Piezoresistive designs are either MEMS type (gas damped) or bonded strain gauge type (fluid damped) and they are suitable for impact measurements where frequency range and g level are considerably high.

Piezoresistive accelerometers are widely used in automobile safety testing including anti-lock braking system, safety air-bags and traction control system as well as weapon testing and seismic measurements. In addition, micromachined accelerometers are available and used in various applications, such as submillimeter piezoresistive accelerometers in extremely small dimensions used for biomedical applications.