Large bandwidth and thermal compensated piezoelectric thick-film acceleration transducer

A thick film piezoelectric accelerometer consisting of two sensitive PZT ferroelectric layers 40-50 mum thick each, is described in the paper. It works without the aid of an inertial mass. The two layers are properly connected and make the accelerometer almost independent of the thermal changes. The processing electronics is a specific low-noise, large bandwidth charge amplifier: its low-frequency cut-off can be set much lower than in a classical charge amplifier. Experimental tests demonstrate a resolution of 0.025% ES., a bandwidth ranging from 0.7 Hz to 40 kHz and a sensitivity of 6 mV s(2)/m. The thermal compensation technique used, the low noise charge amplifier, the experimental results are reported in the paper. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.