Development of MEMS Sensors for Measurements of Pressure, Relative Humidity, and Temperature

Johari, Houri

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Development of MEMS Sensors for Measurements of Pressure, Relative Humidity, and Temperature

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Continued demands for better control of the operating conditions of structures and processes have led to the need for better means of measuring temperature (T), pressure (P), and relative humidity (RH). One way to satisfy this need is to use MEMS technology to develop a sensor that will contain, in a single package, capabilities to simultaneously measure T, P, and RH of its environment. Because of the advantages of MEMS technology, which include small size, low power, very high precision, and low cost, it was selected for use in this thesis. Although MEMS sensors that individually measure T, P, and RH exist, there are no sensors that combine all three measurements in a single package. In this thesis, a piezoresistive pressure sensor and capacitive humidity sensor were developed to operate in the range, of 0 to 2 atm and 0% to 100%, respectively. Finally, a polysilicon resistor temperature sensor, which can work in the range of â€“50ÂºC to 150ÂºC, was analyzed. Multimeasurement capability will make this sensor particularly applicable for point-wise mapping of environmental conditions for advanced process control. In this thesis, the development of sensors for such an integrated device is outlined. Selected results, based on the use of analytical, computational, and experimental solutions (ACES) methodology, particularly suited for the development of MEMS sensors, are presented for the pressure, relative humidity, and temperature sensors.

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