Title :
Novel Capacitive Pressure Sensor
Author :
Bakhoum, Ezzat G. ; Cheng, Marvin H M
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, USA
fDate :
6/1/2010 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A new microelectromechanical-systems capacitive pressure sensor with extremely high sensitivity (2.24 ??F/kPa) is introduced. The sensor essentially consists of a small drop of mercury and a flat aluminum electrode that are separated by a 1 ??m-thick layer of Barium Strontium Titanate (a high dielectric-constant ceramic). The assembly constitutes a parallel-plate capacitor where the surface area of the electrodes is variable to a high degree. The mercury drop is pressured by a small corrugated metal diaphragm. As the electrode area of the parallel-plate capacitor varies, a total change in capacitance of more than 6 ??F is obtained.
Keywords :
barium compounds; capacitance; capacitive sensors; electrodes; micromechanical devices; pressure sensors; Barium Strontium Titanate; capacitance change; corrugated metal diaphragm; electrodes surface area; flat aluminum electrode; mercury drop; microelectromechanical systems; parallel-plate capacitor; parallel-plate capacitor pressure sensor; size 1 mum; Capacitive pressure sensors; sensors;
Journal_Title :
Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JMEMS.2010.2047632
