A micromachined silicon capacitive temperature sensor for radiosonde applications

A novel silicon capacitive temperature sensor implemented with micromachined multilayer cantilevers is presented. The multi-layered sensor structure has been fabricated with SOI wafers by a 4-mask process. Using this structure, the low-power dissipation and wide temperature range can be achieved. For the present sensor, the temperature range is from −70°C to 100°C with the sensitivity of 7fF/°C. This makes it suitable to serve as a temperature sensor for low-power and wide temperature range applications.

[1]  Anton Bakker.  CMOS smart temperature sensors - an overview , 2002, Proceedings of IEEE Sensors.

[2]  S. Timoshenko,et al.  Analysis of Bi-Metal Thermostats , 1925 .

[3]  Yuri M. Shkel,et al.  Strain-dielectric response of dielectrics as foundation for electrostriction stresses , 2005 .

[4]  K. Wise,et al.  A wireless microsystem for the remote sensing of pressure, temperature, and relative humidity , 2005, Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.

[5]  M. Marvan,et al.  Electric polarization induced by strain gradient , 1994, Proceedings of 8th International Symposium on Electrets (ISE 8).

[6]  Y. M. Shkel,et al.  Electrostriction enhancement of solid-state capacitance sensing , 2003 .

[7]  Qing-An Huang,et al.  A novel capacitive pressure sensor based on sandwich structures , 2005, Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.

[8]  Ming Qin,et al.  Weather station on a chip , 2003, Proceedings of IEEE Sensors 2003 (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37498).

[9]  Xiaoming Liu,et al.  Experimental study on the dielectric-deformation behavior of SIO2 in a sandwich structure , 2008, 2008 IEEE 21st International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems.

[10]  K.D. Wise,et al.  An all-capacitive sensing chip for temperature, absolute pressure, and relative humidity , 2003, TRANSDUCERS '03. 12th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems. Digest of Technical Papers (Cat. No.03TH8664).