Patent attributes
A sensor and sensor module with small power consumption and high reliability are disclosed. The sensor includes a capacitor having a capacitance varying with a physical quantity, a capacitance-voltage conversion circuit for converting the capacitance of the capacitor into a voltage, and a control signal generation circuit for generating a plurality of control signals. The capacitor has a frequency-capacitance characteristic with a resonant frequency. In a measurement of the physical quantity, the capacitance of the capacitor is measured with one of the control signals having a first frequency which is much higher or much lower than the resonant frequency. In a self-diagnosis of the sensor, the capacitance of the capacitor is measured with another one of the control signals having a second frequency which is equal or close to the resonant frequency.
