Knudsen force based double beam MEMS vacuum pressure sensor

Abstract

Knudsen forces are gas molecular forces, generated due to the presence of a thermal gradient between two surfaces in rarefied gas and can be effectively used for the measurement of low pressures. This work reports on a Knudsen force based MEMS low pressure sensor consisting of two stacked beams of polysilicon- one acting as a heater while the other as a sensor. The structure is fabricated using a double sacrificial layer surface micromachining process. The thermal gradient across the two stacked beams is induced by resistive heating of the heater beam. The effect of using two separate beams for heating and sensing has been investigated at different heater current and the results are compared with the existing works. The provision of two beams has resulted in the sensor functioning at very low pressure of less than 0.1 Pa with an improved sensitivity of 15.5 fF/mPa.