Passive single chip wireless microwave pressure sensor

Ibrahim, A. and Cumming, D.R.S. (2011) Passive single chip wireless microwave pressure sensor. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 165(2), pp. 200-206. (doi: 10.1016/j.sna.2010.10.020)

Abstract

A novel micromachined passive wireless pressure sensor is presented. The device consists of a tuned circuit operating at 10 GHz fabricated on to a SiO2 membrane, supported on a silicon wafer. A pressure difference across the membrane causes it to deflect so that an antenna circuit detunes. The circuit is remotely interrogated to read off the sensor data wirelessly. The chip area is 5 mm × 4 mm and the membrane area is 2 mm2 with a thickness of 4 μm. Two on-chip passive resonant circuits were investigated: a meandered dipole and a zigzag antenna. Both have a physical length of 4.25 mm. The sensors show a shift in their resonant frequency in response to changing pressure of 10.28–10.27 GHz for the meandered dipole, and 9.61–9.58 GHz for the zigzag antenna. The sensitivities of the meandered dipole and zigzag sensors are 12.5 kHz/mbar and 16 kHz/mbar respectively.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Cumming, Professor David
• Authors: Ibrahim, A., and Cumming, D.R.S.
• Subjects: T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: Sensors and Actuators A: Physical
• ISSN: 0924-4247
• Published Online: 09 November 2010