Submillimeter-size semiconductor sensors

The band-gap pressure dependence of gallium antimonide tunnel diodes has been exploited in the development of new electromechanical sensors. The outstanding features of these devices are simplicity, very small size (< 1 mm), good resolution (∼0.3 mm Hg for a 1000Hz bandwidth) and wide dynamic range (∼60 db). The temperature sensitivity corresponds to about 25 mm Hg/°C but is readily reduced by conventional compensation techniques to the equivalent of about 1 mm Hg/°C or better. The present design is particularly attractive for biomedical applications for which special configurations have been developed.