A dual-axis liquid micro rate gyroscope using an electro-conjugate fluid

We propose a novel dual-axis liquid micro rate gyroscope using an electro-conjugate fluid (ECF). The ECF is a dielectric fluid which works here as a smart fluid generating a powerful jet flow (ECF jet) under a strong DC electric field. The driving principle of this gyroscope using an ECF is based on that of a conventional gas rate sensor. In our previous study, a single-axis liquid micro rate gyroscope using an ECF was proposed and the performance of this gyroscope was investigated by experiments. The proposed gyroscope becomes much thinner than a dual-axis gyroscope composed of two single-axis liquid micro rate gyros. This paper describes the design of the proposed gyroscope and the investigation for the improvement of its performance. As a result of experiments, we obtained the optimized main dimension and lower driving voltage (decline by 49%). Additionally, we confirmed that there was not cross talk in the proposed gyroscope.