Modeling of a pressure sensor based on an array of wedge emitters

In the present work, we analyze the operation of a pressure sensor based on an array of wedge emitters. The device comprises a silicon membrane acting as the anode of the device put in front of the emitter array. When the external pressure bends the membrane, there is a change in the separation tip membrane giving rise to a modification of the field emission current. An analytical solution has been used to calculate the deflection of the silicon diaphragm under different pressure conditions and a computer code was developed to compute the emission current from the array. The device shows high sensitivity allowing the determination of very small changes to the pressure at constant voltage working mode. Alternatively, broad ranges of pressure changes can be measured using a constant current mode. q1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved