| Title | A Metal-On-Silicon Differential Capacitive Shear Stress Sensor |
| Publication Type | Conference Paper |
| Year of Publication | 2009 |
| Authors | Chandrasekharan, V., J. Sells, J. Meloy, D. P. Arnold, and M. Sheplak |
| Conference Name | Tech. Dig. 15th Int. Conf. Solid-State Sensors, Actuators, and Microsystems (Transducers 2009) |
| Date Published | June |
| Conference Location | Denver, CO |
| Abstract | The paper presents a direct, capacitive shear stress sensor with performance sufficient for time-resolved turbulence measurements. The device employs a bulk-micromachined, metal-plated, differential capacitive floating-element design. A simple, two-mask fabrication process is used with DRIE on an SOI wafer to form a tethered floating element structure with comb fingers for transduction. Experimental results indicate a linear sensitivity of 7.66 mV/Pa up to the testing limit of 1.9 Pa at a bias voltage of 10 V, and a bandwidth of 6.2 kHz. The sensor possesses a dynamic range >102 dB and a noise floor of 14.9 micro-Pa/rtHz at 1kHz, outperforming previously reported sensors by nearly two orders of magnitude in MDS. |
