Research on slide-film damping effect to achieve a high-performance resonant pressure senor

The purpose of this study is to investigate the resonance characteristic of a double-ended quartz tuning fork (DEQTF) under the effect of slide-film air damping to achieve a high-performance resonant sensor for low pressure measurement. For the convenience of analysis, a simplified model is established. Theoretical and simulation methods have been carried out to research the air damping mechanism. Through theoretical calculation, the value of quality factor is 7315. This result is validated by harmonic response analysis with the utilization of ANSYS software, where the simulation value is 6770 with a deviation of 7.45%. These results reveal the feasibility of designing high-performance resonant pressure sensors. In view of this, a resonant pressure sensor with the DEQTF sealed in standard atmosphere is proposed. Sensor prototype is accomplished by micromachining technologies. The DEQTF is excited to vibrate in anti-phase mode in a plane by a self-excitation circuit. The digital output exhibits steady square signals. Testing results demonstrate that the sensitivity is 99 Hz/kPa and the non-linearity is 0.031% FS. This study shows the potential values for achieving high-accuracy resonant sensors in atmospheric packaging.