Micromechanical device for the measurement of the RMS value of high-frequency voltages

Author

Beissner, S. ; Wogersien, A. ; Buttgenbach, S. ; Schrader, T. ; Stumper, U.

Author_Institution

Inst. for Microtechnology, TU Braunschweig, Germany

Volume

1

fYear

2003

fDate

22-24 Oct. 2003

Firstpage

631

Abstract

In this paper we present a new device for the measurement of the root-mean square (rms) value of high frequency (HF) voltages. The device is realized as a micromachined structure which responds to electrostatic forces caused by applied voltages. The structure has a seesaw-like geometry and is made of silicon. At frequencies much higher than the mechanical resonance frequency the system will not follow the stimulating sinusoidal waveform any more, but it is deflected according to the rms value of the HF voltage. The deflection can be determined by a wheatstone bridge consisting of two on-chip capacitors and two external resistors or by measuring a single capacitor.

Keywords

micromachining; micromechanical devices; voltage measurement; RMS measurement; electrostatic forces; high-frequency voltages; mechanical resonance frequency; micromechanical device; micromechanical sensor; rms value; seesaw-like geometry; wheatstone bridge; Capacitors; Electrostatic measurements; Frequency measurement; Geometry; Hafnium; Micromechanical devices; Resonance; Resonant frequency; Silicon; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Sensors, 2003. Proceedings of IEEE

Print_ISBN

0-7803-8133-5

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICSENS.2003.1279014

Filename

1279014