MEMS-Based Capacitive Pressure Sensors with Self-Calibration Capability

In this proposal, Intelligent Automation Inc. (IAI) along with its subcontractor, Professor Lynn Fuller, from Rochester Institute of Technology, proposes to develop innovative sensor architectures, electronics, and software techniques to provide the pressure sensor with capabilities of built-in self-testing and undertaking wireless communication to transmit relevant data. This effort will result in the development of a miniature, low power, self-calibrating, wireless smart sensor system that will be suitable for monitoring the pressure of mechanized control systems in surface ships and submarines. The key innovation of our proposed approach lies in the novel design and development of a Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) based capacitive pressure sensor. The proposed design allows for an accurate electrostatic force to be generated and applied to the sensor's diaphragm, and the simultaneous precise measurement of the resulting displacement of the diaphragm caused as a result of the application of that force. This unique ability provides us the capability to assess a sensor's health by evaluating the changes in the diaphragm's mechanical properties that contribute to the drifts in the sensor's sensitivity and linearity. Advanced electric circuits and embedded real-time algorithms will be developed to implement optimal controls and accurate measurements for pressure readouts, sensor self-calibration, and wireless communications.