A Study on Micro Thermal Flow Sensors Fabricated Using SOI-MEMS Technology

In recent years, miniaturization and higher performance have been increasingly required for the electronic devices in the measurement system or electronics. In order to accomplish these goals, sensors and actuators using the MEMS have been widely studied. A flow sensor is one of such MEMS sensors. There are various types of flow sensors such as an electromagnetic type, a float type, an ultrasonic type, an impeller type, or a thermal type. Among them the thermal type has the potential of fulfilling the above requirements and is easy to be produced using the MEMS technology. Based on these backgrounds the micro thermal flow sensor using SOI-MEMS technology has been extensively studied. This paper presents the results of the sensitivity calculation using a simple linear model, FEM simulation of the temperature distribution, the design and measurement results of the prototypes.