A MEMS-Based 5-Sensor Probe

This work presents our progress in the development of MEMS (Micro-Electra-Mechanical Systems)-based, high-performance, fast-response, multisensor pressure probes of miniature size for velocity and pressure measurement in unsteady and turbulent flowfields. The fabrication and calibration of a miniature 5-sensor hemispherical-tip probe are discussed. The focus of the work has been to fabricate a sensitive MEMS pressure sensor array and to develop calibration theory, algorithms and environments for a fast-response probe. We fabricated an array of 5 bossed-diaphragm absolute pressure sensors 250x250 pm2 in size. One of the challenges in the pressure sensor development is the design of sensors with sensitivity sufficient for accurate measurements in flow conditions most commonly of interest to the scientific and industrial community. We fabricated the probe tip components that house the MEMS sensor array and have assembled a probe prototype. New theoretical and experimental unsteady probe calibration techniques are introduced. Both theoretical and experimental approaches are employed to develop calibration techniques suitable for unsteady and turbulent flow environments with small time and length scales.