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Investigation of MEMS Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor with a Freely Supported Rectangular Silicon Carbide Diaphragm as a Primary Sensing Element for Altitudinal Applications

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Abstract

Silicon and Polysilicon are used as piezoresistive materials in MEMS (Micro Electromechanical system) piezoresistive pressure sensors because of its reproducibility and enhanced sensitivity. In harsh environments like corrosive media, high radiation and high temperatures, there is a need for pressure measurement. Silicon Carbide material is a promising candidate for harsh environments because it has superior thermomechanical properties. Our proposed work presents MEMS Silicon Carbide piezoresistive pressure sensor on a freely supported rectangular diaphragm for high altitude robust applications at elevated temperature and pressure. In this work, analytical modelling and simulation approach is used to model and analysed Silicon Carbide piezoresistive pressure sensor characteristics and to determine its optimal design. An in-depth step by step derivation for key performance parameters of the sensor is examined for freely supported rectangular diaphragm piezoresistive pressure sensor. Using thin plate and small deflection theory, expressions are simulated numerically using MATLAB software to determine its sensitivity. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is done to validate the effectiveness of the theoretical methods. The analysis conducted using FEM (Finite Element Method) dovetail perfectly with the modelled results. At the end, the simulated results have been compared with the published results reported in the literature.

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Not Applicable.

Code Availability

Licensed Version of MATLAB and COMSOL has been used to generate plots.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Vellore Institute of Technology's management for giving us the chance to conduct the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamilnadu, 632014, India

    Dadasikandar Kanekal & Sumit Kumar Jindal

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  1. Dadasikandar Kanekal
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  2. Sumit Kumar Jindal
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The study's inception and design involved input from all authors. Mr. Dadasikandar Kanekal prepared the manuscript's first and Mr. Sumit Kumar Jindal provided comments on previous versions of manuscript. The final manuscript was read and approved by all authors.

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Correspondence to Sumit Kumar Jindal.

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Kanekal, D., Jindal, S.K. Investigation of MEMS Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor with a Freely Supported Rectangular Silicon Carbide Diaphragm as a Primary Sensing Element for Altitudinal Applications. Silicon 15, 1947–1959 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-022-02146-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-022-02146-z

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