A Pressure- Temperature Microsensor Based on Synergistical Sensing of Dual Resonators

Simultaneous measurements of pressure and temperature take wide attentions for several technical applications. This pressure-temperature microsensor fully utilizes the mechanical and thermal features of common semiconductor materials which can be achieved by micro-electro mechanical technologies, in contrast to typical simultaneous measurement systems that rely on optical properties of fiber materials. The idea is illustrated using two identical resonators that work synergistically to sense the pressure and temperature. The pressure and temperature sensing are determined by the reactions of pressure sensitive diaphragm to pressure and the differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion among the composed materials of the microsensor, respectively. The pressure and temperature sensitivity of the dual resonators in this work were calculated by numerical simulations and verified by experimental characterizations. Additional characterizations revealed that the measurement pressure and temperature errors of the developed microsensor were within -10 Pa to 40 Pa and -0.25 degrees C to 0.26 degrees C with corresponding accuracy of +/- 0.01 %FS (Full scale) and +/- 0.2 %FS, respectively.