Novel resonant pressure sensor based on piezoresistive detection and symmetrical in-plane mode vibration

In this paper, a novel resonant pressure sensor is developed based on electrostatic excitation and piezoresistive detection. The measured pressure applied to the diaphragm will cause the resonant frequency shift of the resonator. The working mode stress–frequency theory of a double-ended tuning fork with an enhanced coupling beam is proposed, which is compatible with the simulation and experiment. A unique piezoresistive detection method based on small axially deformed beams with a resonant status is proposed, and other adjacent mode outputs are easily shielded. According to the structure design, high-vacuum wafer-level packaging with different doping in the anodic bonding interface is fabricated to ensure the high quality of the resonator. The pressure sensor chip is fabricated by dry/wet etching, high-temperature silicon bonding, ion implantation, and wafer-level anodic bonding. The results show that the fabricated sensor has a measuring sensitivity of ~19 Hz/kPa and a nonlinearity of 0.02% full scale in the pressure range of 0–200 kPa at a full temperature range of −40 to 80 °C. The sensor also shows a good quality factor >25,000, which demonstrates the good vacuum performance. Thus, the feasibility of the design is a commendable solution for high-accuracy pressure measurements. The operating principle and experimental realization of a new piezoresistive resonant pressure sensor are shown. Resonant pressure sensors rely on changes in applied pressure to a diaphragm to cause the resonant frequency of the resonator to change. This enables high stability and signal-to-noise ratios, combined with a quasi-digital output; resultantly, resonant pressure sensors are often used in critical applications such as aerospace and for instrument calibration. Here, a team led by Zhuangde Jiang from Xi’an Jiaotong University, China, report a piezoresistive detection-based resonant pressure sensor. They establish the theory for their device operation, verified by both simulations and experiments. Their device shows an accuracy better than 0.02% FS and a resonant quality factor greater than 25,000.