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Miniaturized silicon-based capacitive six-axis force/torque sensor with large range, high sensitivity, and low
Renjie Tan1,2, Yong Xia1,3, Xiangguang Han4,5
1State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, International Joint Laboratory for Micro/Nano Manufacturing and Measurement Technologies, Xi'an Jiaotong University (Yantai) Research Institute for Intelligent Sensing Technology and System, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710049, Xi'an, China.
Researchers developed a miniaturized silicon-based capacitive six-axis force/torque sensor chip for robotics and surgery. This compact sensor offers precise force and torque detection with minimal crosstalk, enabling advanced applications in confined spaces.
Area of Science:
- MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)
- Sensor Technology
- Robotics and Automation
Background:
- Existing force/torque sensors are too large for applications in confined spaces like minimally invasive surgery and robotic tactile sensing.
- There is a need for miniaturized sensors capable of measuring six-axis force and torque with high accuracy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design, fabricate, and test a miniaturized silicon-based capacitive six-axis force/torque sensing chip.
- To achieve low axial crosstalk and a large measurement range in a compact form factor.
Main Methods:
- Designed a silicon-based capacitive sensing chip (9.3 × 9.3 × 0.98 mm).
- Employed a sandwich decoupling structure with S-shaped beams, comb, and parallel capacitors.
- Derived a decoupling theory accounting for eccentricity and nonlinear effects.
- Utilized coupled multiphysics field finite-element simulation for analysis.
Main Results:
- The sensing chip successfully detected six-axis force/torque separately.
- Crosstalk errors were below 2.59%FS.
- Achieved force and torque measurement ranges of 2.5 N and 12.5 N·mm, respectively.
- Demonstrated high sensitivities of 0.52 pF/N (force) and 0.27 pF/(N·mm) (torque).
Conclusions:
- The developed miniaturized sensing chip meets the requirements for applications in narrow operating spaces.
- The novel design and decoupling theory enable accurate six-axis force/torque sensing with low crosstalk.
- This technology advances capabilities in robotic sensing and minimally invasive surgical tools.
