Li Fengchao, Yan Shijin, Lei Cheng, Wang Dandan, Wei Xi, Yu Jiangang, Li Yongwei, Ji Pengfei, Tan Qiulin, Liang Ting
State Key Laboratory of Extreme Environment Optoelectronic Dynamic Measurement Technology and Instrument, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China.
Department of Automation, Taiyuan Institute of Technology, Taiyuan 030051, China.
Micromachines (Basel). 2025 Apr 28;16(5):516. doi: 10.3390/mi16050516.
This paper presents a novel silicon-based piezoresistive pressure sensor composed of a silicon layer with sensing elements and a glass cover for hermetic packaging. Unlike conventional designs, this study employs numerical simulation to analyze the influence of varying roughness levels of the sensitive membrane on the sensor's output response. Simulation results demonstrate that pressure sensors with smoother sensitive membranes exhibit superior performance in terms of sensitivity (5.07 mV/V/MPa), linearity (0.67% FS), hysteresis (0.88% FS), and repeatability (0.75% FS). Furthermore, an optimized process for controlling membrane roughness was achieved by adjusting the concentration of the etchant solution. Experimental results reveal that a membrane roughness of 35.37 nm was attained under conditions of 80 °C and 25 wt% TMAH. Additionally, the fabrication process of this piezoresistive pressure sensor was significantly simplified and cost-effective due to the adoption of a backside wet etching technique. The fabricated sensor demonstrates excellent performance metrics, including a sensitivity of 5.07 mV/V/MPa, a full-scale (FS) output of 101.42 mV, a hysteresis of 0.88% FS, a repeatability of 0.75% FS, and a nonlinearity of 0.67% FS. These results indicate that the proposed sensor is a promising tool for precise pressure measurement applications, offering both high performance and cost efficiency. This study not only advances the understanding of the impact of membrane roughness on sensor performance but also provides a practical and scalable fabrication approach for piezoresistive pressure sensors.
本文介绍了一种新型的硅基压阻式压力传感器，它由带有传感元件的硅层和用于气密封装的玻璃盖组成。与传统设计不同，本研究采用数值模拟来分析敏感膜不同粗糙度水平对传感器输出响应的影响。模拟结果表明，具有更光滑敏感膜的压力传感器在灵敏度（5.07 mV/V/MPa）、线性度（0.67% FS）、滞后（0.88% FS）和重复性（0.75% FS）方面表现出卓越的性能。此外，通过调整蚀刻剂溶液的浓度实现了控制膜粗糙度的优化工艺。实验结果表明，在80°C和25 wt% TMAH的条件下，膜粗糙度达到了35.37 nm。此外，由于采用了背面湿法蚀刻技术，这种压阻式压力传感器的制造工艺得到了显著简化且具有成本效益。所制造的传感器展示了优异的性能指标，包括灵敏度为5.07 mV/V/MPa、满量程（FS）输出为101.42 mV、滞后为0.88% FS、重复性为0.75% FS以及非线性为0.67% FS。这些结果表明，所提出的传感器是用于精确压力测量应用的有前途的工具，兼具高性能和成本效益。本研究不仅增进了对膜粗糙度对传感器性能影响的理解，还为压阻式压力传感器提供了一种实用且可扩展的制造方法。
