Development of a piezoresistive accelerometer with both high natural frequency and superior overload capability

Accelerometers featuring high natural frequencies and superior overload capabilities are particularly valuable in applications such as military low-threshold-weapon fuzes. However, synergistic improvement of these parameters is bottlenecked by the trade-off between sensitivity and natural frequency, and the trade-off between natural frequency and displacement limit. Here, via designing anti-overload structures integrated with the pure-axial-stressed sensing structure, we achieve simultaneous high natural frequency and superior overload capability. The proposed sensor is fabricated and characterized. Results yield a sensitivity of 0.037±0.002 mV/g at 2 V and a natural frequency of 31.35±0.72 kHz, comparable to the reference sensor, and an overload capability of 19445.80±290.55 g representing a 133.84% improvement. Accelerometers with high natural frequency and superior overload capability enable high-fidelity measurement of broadband signals under harsh environments.