Micromachined Tunneling Accelerometer for Use in Outer Space

Two short reports describe a micromachined quantum-mechanical-tunneling accelerometer and radiation-hardened support electronics designed for use in outer space. Like the micromachined tunneling accelerometers described previously in NASA Tech Briefs, this device is based on the use of electronic sensing/feedback control circuitry that measures acceleration in terms of an electrostatic-deflection voltage necessary to maintain a small constant distance (typically a few Angstroms) between a membrane and a tunneling tip in a mechanical acceleration-sensing/electron-tunneling device.