A novel PDMS based capacitive pressure sensor

In this paper, a capacitive pressure sensor for aeronautical applications is presented. The sensor mainly consists of a thin structured layer of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) that is embedded between two metal films. In this application the structured PDMS layer is used as dielectric and as spring element. The optimal design of the sensor was determined using a finite element analysis. The technological implementation of the first test samples using microtechnology is shown. The static and dynamic characterization of the pressure sensor validates the high sensitivity and temporal resolution of the sensor.