ESD performance of bridge-resistance pressure diaphragm sensors

The ESD performance of bridge-resistance based pressure diaphragm sensors, including micromachined silicon sensors and high-performance thin film sensors, is evaluated based on sensor span and offset as failure criteria. Different micromachined silicon sensors from different vendors show considerable differences in ESD performance. It is found that sensing element construction and layout contributes significantly to sensor ESD robustness. An incoming qualifying procedure is also developed to further help sensor application companies to screen sensing elements from different vendors. In addition, weak spots in current design are also identified.