A Novel Crossbeam Structure with Graphene Sensing Element for N/MEMS Mechanical Sensors

Abstract

A graphene membrane acts as a highly sensitive element in a nano/micro–electro–mechanical system (N/MEMS) due to its unique physical and chemical properties. Here, a novel crossbeam structure with a graphene varistor protected by Si3N4 is presented for N/MEMS mechanical sensors. It substantially overcomes the poor reliability of previous sensors with suspended graphene and exhibits excellent mechanoelectrical coupling performance, as graphene is placed on the root of the crossbeam. By performing basic mechanical electrical measurements, a preferable gauge factor of ~1.35 is obtained. The sensitivity of the graphene pressure sensor based on the crossbeam structure chip is 33.13 mV/V/MPa in a wide range of 0~20 MPa. Other static specifications, including hysteresis error, nonlinear error, and repeatability error, are 2.0119%, 3.3622%, and 4.0271%, respectively. We conclude that a crossbeam structure with a graphene sensing element can be an application for the N/MEMS mechanical sensor.

Material Selection Analysis of New Partial Discharge Sensor Electrode Plate Based on First-Principles Study

“…It has become the first choice of sensing material in various sensors. In [ 8 ], a N/MEMS mechanical sensor with a graphene sensing element is proposed. In [ 9 ], a low-cost graphene-based interdigital capacitance pressure sensor is proposed.…”