Patent ID: 11860048
Assignee: THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  B  H  A | IPC A  B  G  H

Claim 10:
11. A sensor apparatus comprising:
a capacitor including
a first substrate having a first electrode;
a second substrate having a second electrode; and
a dielectric layer having a plurality of dielectric structures arranged in a pattern, the dielectric layer being between the first and second substrates, and the first and second electrodes being separated by the dielectric layer and arranged with an overlapping area with respect to one another; and

sensor circuitry coupled to and operative with the capacitor to detect normal and shear forces applied to the sensor apparatus based on changes in capacitance derived from changes in at least one of a distance between the first and second electrodes and the overlapping area of the first and second electrodes, wherein the second substrate further includes a third electrode, and the capacitor further includes:
a third substrate having a fourth electrode, and
another dielectric layer between the second and third substrates.