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Optical Precision Engineering Cover | Development of a Bi-directional High-Overload Silicon-Based Differential Pressure Sensitive Element

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Journal of Optical and Precision Engineering, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2025

Introduction

Microelectromechanical SystemsMicro-Electro-MechanicalSystem, MEMSSilicon-based differential pressure sensors have become one of the most widely used pressure sensors due to their compact structure, easy integration, good performance, high reliability, and low cost. The differential pressure sensing element is the core component of the differential pressure sensor. However, in harsh environments such as aerospace, petrochemicals, and marine science, the pressure detected by the differential pressure sensing element often far exceeds its range, inevitably leading to overload failure.

To address this issue,Du Liqun et al. from Dalian University of TechnologypublishedJournal of Optical and Precision Engineering(Supported by the Second Phase of the Excellent Action Plan for Chinese Scientific and Technological Journals, indexed by EI and Scopus, a core Chinese journal, and a "T1" level journal in the "High-Quality Scientific and Technological Journal Grading Catalog" for Instrumentation and Optical and Optoelectronic Engineering)Development of a bidirectional high-overload silicon-based differential pressure sensing elementas a cover article.

Beam-island misaligned film structure differential pressure sensing element

This paper designs a beam-island misaligned film structure differential pressure sensing element, as shown in Figure 1. The sensing element is bonded by a beam-island silicon film structure and a glass substrate. Among them, the beam structure reduces stress concentration, and the island structure improves structural stiffness; the glass substrate bonding surface is designed with square grooves and circular through-holes, and the misaligned structure formed by the square grooves of the silicon film structure and the glass substrate further reduces the maximum stress.

Influence of misalignment distance on overload capacity

This paper explores the influence of misalignment distance on overload capacity through mechanical simulation. Figure 2 shows the simulation results of the misalignment distance Δ. When the misalignment distance Δ = 0, the maximum stress σ_maxis much larger than the difference between the maximum longitudinal and transverse stress σ_{s max}，the overload factor of the differential pressure sensing elementρis small, and the overload capacity is poor. When the square grooves of the silicon film and glass substrate are misaligned, the maximum stress σ_maxis significantly reduced, while the difference between the maximum longitudinal and transverse stress σ_{s max}changes little, so the overload factor of the differential pressure sensing elementρis significantly improved compared to the non-misaligned state. When the misalignment distance Δ is 100, 200, 300, and 400 μm respectively, the overload factor of the differential pressure sensing elementρchanges little. Figure 4 shows the stress distribution with and without misalignment. The model in the figure is a quarter model of the beam-island misaligned film structure differential pressure sensing element. From this, it can be seen that: when there is misalignment, the maximum stress σ_maxis transferred from the midpoint of the silicon film edge to the root of the beam, so that the maximum stress σ_maxand the difference between the maximum longitudinal and transverse stress σ_{s max}are in the same area, and the overload capacity is improved.

Figure 2: Simulation results of misalignment distance Δ.

Figure 3: Stress distribution with and without misalignment.

Test results

Pressure is applied to the structural surface and bottom surface of the beam-island misaligned film structure (BADMS) and C-type film structure (CTMS) respectively. The minimum value of the two-sided burst pressure is taken as the burst pressure of the differential pressure sensing element. The burst pressure test results are shown in Figure 4. As can be seen from Figure 4: The burst pressure of the beam-island misaligned film structure differential pressure sensing element is 0.85 MPa (structural surface burst pressure 0.85 MPa, bottom surface burst pressure 1.08 MPa), and the burst pressure of the C-type film structure differential pressure sensing element is 0.65 MPa (structural surface burst pressure 0.65 MPa, bottom surface burst pressure 0.87 MPa).

Figure 4: Burst pressure test results.

Engineering application prospects

This study proposes a beam-island misaligned film structure differential pressure sensing element, explores the influence of misalignment distance and silicon film geometric size on the overload capacity of the differential pressure sensing element, and verifies it through MEMS process experiments and burst pressure tests, which has certain guiding significance for the overload research of pressure sensors.

Author introduction

Du LiqunDr. Liqun Du is a professor and doctoral supervisor at Dalian University of Technology. He is a high-level talent in Dalian and was selected for the "Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Talents Project" in Liaoning Province in 2011. From October 2000 to September 2002, he conducted postdoctoral research at Nagoya University in Japan under the tutelage of Professor Toshio Fukuda. His research focuses on the fundamental theory and application technology of electrochemical machining. He has presided over more than 30 projects, including national key research and development plan projects, national natural science foundation projects, overseas returned scholars' startup fund projects, and Dalian municipal science and technology plan projects. He has published more than 180 academic papers as the first author/corresponding author and has been authorized more than 20 Chinese invention patents as the first inventor. He has received 3 second-class provincial and ministerial scientific research awards, 1 Liaoning Provincial Government Science and Technology Progress Award, and 3 Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Academic Achievement Awards.

E-mail:duliqun@dlut.edu.cn

Paper Information

Du Liqun, Li Aoqi, Li Meng, et al. Development of a bidirectional high-overload silicon-based differential pressure sensitive element[J]. Optical Precision Engineering, 2025, 33(02):209-219.

https://ope.lightpublishing.cn/zh/article/doi/10.37188/OPE.20253302.0209/

References

1. Han X G, Huang M M, Wu Z T, et al. Advances in the design, fabrication, and packaging of high-performance MEMS pressure sensors[J].Microsystems & Nanoengineering， 2023， 156： 9.

2. SABHAPANDIT E， JINDAL K S， KANEKAL D， et al. Numerical simulation of a striped piezoresistive MEMS pressure sensor on a circular silicon diaphragm: A finite element method based study[J].Nano, 2023， 18：4.

3. Chen Yujun, Xu Qun, Zhang Xiaoqun, et al. Research progress on materials and sensing mechanisms of high-temperature pressure sensors[J].IEEE Sensors Journal， 2023， 23（22）： 26910-26924.

4. Yang Y, Dai Zhihua, Chen Y, et al. Principles, materials, and applications of emerging MEMS sensors in ocean physics[J].Applied Physics Reviews， 2024， 11（2）： 021320.

Team Introduction

Professor Du Liqun's team at Dalian University of Technology, relying on the "National Key Laboratory of High-Performance Precision Manufacturing," has been deeply engaged in MEMS technology. Focusing on the application needs of major national strategic equipment and high-performance devices in the fields of aerospace, national defense security, microelectronics, biomedicine, and precision machinery, the team has achieved many important original results in electrochemical machining of metal micro-devices, UV-LIGA processing of metal micro-devices, micro-mold manufacturing, and silicon-based pressure sensors.