Patent ID: 6864677

Claim:
A method of testing a sensor, said sensor comprising: a substrate arranged along a XY-plane of an XYZ three-dimensional coordinate system; a working body receiving a force and located adjacent to said substrate with a predetermined distance; a flexible member made of silicon supporting said working body at a periphery thereof so that said working body is suspended and spatial deviation of said working body is produced by applying said force thereto; a fixing member fixing said flexible member to said substrate; and a transducer for transforming said spatial deviation into an electric signal that indicates a direction and a magnitude of said force, said method comprising the steps of: providing a deviation electrode and a fixed electrode, said deviation electrode being located at a position which deviates along with said working body and said fixed electrode being fixed to said substrate so as to face said deviation electrode; applying a voltage between said deviation electrode and said fixed electrode so that Coulomb force is produced which causes spatial deviation of said working body in an X-axis direction of said XYZ three-dimensional coordinate system; detecting an electric signal transformed by said transducer while said spatial deviation is caused by applying said voltage; and testing an operation of said sensor with respect to said X-axis direction based on a relationship between said applied voltage and said detected electric signal.