Title :
Annularly Grooved Diaphragm Pressure Sensor With Embedded Silicon Nanowires for Low Pressure Application
Author :
Songsong Zhang ; Tao Wang ; Liang Lou ; Wei Mong Tsang ; Sawada, Renshi ; Dim-Lee Kwong ; Chengkuo Lee
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Nat. Univ. of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Abstract :
We present a nanoelectromechanical system piezoresistive pressure sensor with annular grooves on the circular diaphragm where silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are embedded as sensing elements around the edge. In comparison with our previous flat diaphragm pressure sensor, this new diaphragm structure enhances the device sensitivity by 2.5 times under pressure range of 0-120 mmHg. By leveraging SiNWs as piezoresistors, this improvement is even remarkable in contrast to other recently reported piezoresistive pressure sensing devices. In addition, with the miniaturized sensing diaphragm (radius of 100 μm) the sensor can be potentially used as implantable device for low-pressure sensing applications.
Keywords :
elemental semiconductors; intelligent sensors; nanofabrication; nanosensors; nanowires; piezoresistive devices; pressure sensors; silicon; Si; annularly grooved circular flat diaphragm pressure sensor; circular diaphragm; distance 100 mum; embedded silicon nanowire; low-pressure sensing application; nanoelectromechanical system; piezoresistive pressure sensor; piezoresistor; pressure 0 mm Hg to 120 mm Hg; Etching; Nanowires; Piezoresistance; Sensitivity; Sensors; Silicon; Stress; Piezoresistance; annular groove; biomedical; biomedical.; low pressure; pressure sensor; silicon nanowires (SiNWs);
Journal_Title :
Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JMEMS.2014.2313635
