An SOI CMOS-Based Multi-Sensor MEMS Chip for Fluidic Applications.
An SOI CMOS multi-sensor MEMS chip, which can simultaneously measure temperature, pressure and flow rate, has been reported. The multi-sensor chip has been designed keeping in view the requirements of researchers interested in experimental fluid dynamics. The chip contains ten thermodiodes (temperature sensors), a piezoresistive-type pressure sensor and nine hot film-based flow rate sensors fabricated within the oxide layer of the SOI wafers. The silicon dioxide layers with embedded sensors are relieved from the substrate as membranes with the help of a single DRIE step after chip fabrication from a commercial CMOS foundry. Very dense sensor packing per unit area of the chip has been enabled by using technologies/processes like SOI, CMOS and DRIE. Independent apparatuses were used for the characterization of each sensor. With a drive current of 10 µA-0.1 µA, the thermodiodes exhibited sensitivities of 1.41 mV/°C-1.79 mV/°C in the range 20-300 °C. The sensitivity of the pressure sensor was 0.0686 mV/(VexcitkPa) with a non-linearity of 0.25% between 0 and 69 kPa above ambient pressure. Packaged in a micro-channel, the flow rate sensor has a linearized sensitivity of 17.3 mV/(L/min)-0.1in the tested range of 0-4.7 L/min. The multi-sensor chip can be used for simultaneous measurement of fluid pressure, temperature and flow rate in fluidic experiments and aerospace/automotive/biomedical/process industries.
Institute of Avionics and Aeronautics, Air University, E-9, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. mohtashimmansoor@gmail.com.|Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, 9-JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FA, UK. mohtashimmansoor@gmail.com.
Mohtashim
M
Mansoor
Institute of Avionics and Aeronautics, Air University, E-9, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. ibraheem.haneef@gmail.com.|National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. ibraheem.haneef@gmail.com.
Ibraheem
I
Haneef
National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. sakhtarjanjua@gmail.com.
Suhail
S
Akhtar
Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nilore, Islamabad 45650, Pakistan. aftabrafiq@pieas.edu.pk.
Muhammad Aftab
MA
Rafiq
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, 9-JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FA, UK. ad597@cam.ac.uk.
Andrea
A
De Luca
Cambridge CMOS Sensors Ltd., Deanland House, 160-Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0DL, UK. zeeshan.ali@ccmoss.com.
Syed Zeeshan
SZ
Ali
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, 9-JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FA, UK. fu@eng.cam.ac.uk.|Cambridge CMOS Sensors Ltd., Deanland House, 160-Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0DL, UK. fu@eng.cam.ac.uk.
Florin
F
Udrea
CMOS; DRIE; MEMS; SOI; aerospace; dense sensor packing; fluid dynamics; multi-sensor; piezoresistive pressure sensor; sensor system; thermal flow rate sensor; thermodiodes