This page shows a detailed view of the MEMS structure for a single axis gyroscope. In the photo, the mechanical mass consists of the two wings highlighted in yellow. The wings move up and down when an angular rate is applied. Surrounding this structure are the capacitive plates used to actuate the mass. The diagram on the right shows a representation of this structure along with the capacitive plates that are used to create the motion. The diagrams at the bottom of the page show a cross sectional view of how the wing structure reacts to an angular velocity. The wing displacement is read by detecting the capacitive variation between the bottom plate and the wing itself.