Design, modeling, and simulation of MEMS pressure sensors

This paper focuses on the design and analysis of a MEMS piezoresistive pressure sensor. The absolute pressure sensor with a 150μm wide and 3μm thick silicon membrane is modeled and simulated using CoventorWare™ softwareprofiting from a finite element method (FEM) implemented to determine specific electro-mechanical parameter values characterizing MEMS structure being designed. Optimization of piezoresistor parameters has been also performed to determine optimum dimensions of piezoresistors and their location referred to the center on the pressure sensor diaphragm. The output voltage measured on a piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge has been obtained and compared for two different resistor materials along with and linearity error analysis.