Tunable pressure sensing applications of a MEMS buckled membrane
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
6-15-2015
Abstract
Buckled membranes are commonly used in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) structures. One application of a microfabricated membrane is pressure sensing. A differential pressure across the membrane causes deflection, up or down, which can be measured and related to a specific pressure change. Recent work has demonstrated that the deflection and stiffness of these membranes can be tuned through localized joule heating. This opens up a wider range of possible applications of these membranes. In typical pressure sensor design, the mechanical properties of the membrane are constant resulting in a limited range of response to pressure. By tuning the stiffness of the membrane, its pressure response is varied providing a wider range of application for the pressure sensor. A 1.5mm by 1.5mm square membrane demonstrated a decrease in pressure sensitivity from 6μm/psi to 0.2μm/psi over a range of 0 to 15 volts applied to an electrothermal heater on top of the membrane.
Source Publication
2015 National Aerospace and Electronics Conference (NAECON)
Recommended Citation
R. A. Lake and R. A. Coutu, "Tunable pressure sensing applications of a MEMS buckled membrane," 2015 National Aerospace and Electronics Conference (NAECON), Dayton, OH, USA, 2015, pp. 228-231, doi: 10.1109/NAECON.2015.7443072.
Comments
Copyright © 2015, IEEE.
This conference paper is available through subscription or purchase from the publisher, IEEE, using the DOI link below.
Author note: Robert Lake was an AFIT PhD student at the time of this conference. (AFIT-ENG-DS-15-S-013, September 2015)