Polycrystalline silicon-on-metal strain gauge transducers

The characteristics of polycrystalline silicon-on-metal strain gauge transducers are reported. This strain gauge material is stable, rugged, operates over a wide temperature range, and has a gauge factor intermediate between that of single-crystal Si, having the same carrier concentration, and that of metal wires and thin films. A model relating the polycrystalline silicon gauge factor and its temperature dependence to that of single-crystal Si strain gauges is developed and shown to adequately describe transducer properties.