Circular Diaphragm

International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Systems (IJEECS)
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Studies on effect of geometry of a silicon based diaphragm on the

sensitivity of a MEMS PARALLEL Plate Capacitive sensor used in
pressure measurement
1
M. Srinagesh, 2K. Durga Aparna & 3D.V.Ramakoti Reddy
Instrument Technology Department, Andhra University, Vizag.

Abstract - In this paper the effect of the geometry of the
silicon diaphragm used as moving plates in a Microelectromechanical systems pressure sensor operating in
harsh environments is studied. The principle of the paper
is to propose a most ideally suitable geometry of the
moving plate and bottom plate of parallel plate MEMS
parallel plate capacitor which will have a better sensitivity
when compared to the other geometric shapes of the
moving plate diaphragm having the same area of cross
section and thickness. The theoretical mathematical results
are compared with the simulation using MEMS SOLVER
software where the deflection dependency on the shape and
size of the diaphragm is clearly visualized. As the
sensitivity of the pressure sensor is dependent on the
deflection of the moving diaphragm through the gap
between the plates and the amount of deflection depends on
the shape and size of the diaphragm the geometry of the
diaphragm plays important role in the design of the sensor.
II. CIRCULAR DIAPHRAGM:

The circular diaphragm has lowest stress on its edges
when applying the pressure. Largest centre deflection
can be seen in the diaphragm. So, in applications where
maximum deflection plays the major role circular
diaphragm is suggested
The proposed pressure sensor parameters are radius of the

diaphragm150m2, and the thickness is 6m and the gap
between the plates is 10m. The range of the sensor is 01MPa.
Keywords- MEMS, capacitive pressure sensor, harsh
environment, MEMS Solver, and diaphragm geometry.
I. INTRODUCTION
Mems pressure sensors have advantages of low cost,
small size, low power consumption and high resolution.
Diaphragms are the most important parts for many
mems sensors. A thin membrane serves as the sensing
element in Mems pressure sensors. Pressure applied on
the diaphragm deflects the membrane and this deflection
is limited until the elastic force is balanced by pressure.
In order to get high sensitivity the diaphragm thickness
should be thin to maximize the load deflection response.
On the other hand thin deflection under high pressure
may result in large deflection and nonlinear effects that
are not desirable.
The different shapes of diaphragms (square, rectangle,
circular) play a significant role in operation in different
applications. The purpose of this paper is to show which
type of diaphragm can be chosen for specific Mems
devices.
For a circular shaped pressure sensor the change in

capacitance due to deflection is given by
C = 3 1 v 2 R4
0 r Asense
P
16ET 3 g 2
Where c is change in capacitance, P is the pressure

difference across the diaphragm, R and T are the radius
and thickness of the diaphragm, E and are the Youngs
modulus and Poissons ratio of the diaphragm material,
Asense is the area of the moving plates, and g is the
sensing gap between the moving plate and fixed plate.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
ISSN (Online): 2347-2820, Volume -3, Issue-6 2015
24

________________________________________________________________________________________________
So, here for the circular diaphragm the radius is 150m,
poissons
ratio
is
0.22,youngs
modulus
is
170Gpa,thickness is 6m,gap between the plates is
10m and the pressure range is from 0 to 1Mpa.
Table 1: circular diaphragm
Pressure (Mpa)
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Sensitivity
1.538710-6
3.077510-6
4.616210-6
6.155010-6
7.693710-6
9.232510-6
1.077110-5
1.231010-5
1.384810-5
SQUARE DIAPHRAGM:
As far as the induced stress for a given pressure is
concerned the square diaphragm has the highest induced
stress and hence it is the preferred geometry for the
pressure sensors.
No. of Vertical Elements
No. of Edge Elements
152
For a square shaped pressure sensor the change in

capacitance due to deflection is given by [2],[3]
No of Boundary Elements
1400
c = [0.01512(1-2) PL4/Eh3] [orA/d2]]
No . of Elements
1891
Minimum Element Quality
0.3483
MEMS TOOL USED: COMSOLMULTIPHYSICS 4.0
Where c is change in capacitance, is permittivity, is

poisons ratio, a is area, E is youngs modulus, h is the
thickness, d is the gap between the plates and P is the
pressure.
Courtesy: ANDHRA
CENTER, Vizag, AP
So, here for the square diaphragm the poisons ratio is

0.22,youngs modulus is 170Gpa,distance between the
UNIVERSITY
NPMASS
________________________________________________________________________________________________
25

________________________________________________________________________________________________
plate is 10m,thickness is 6m and the pressure range is
from 0 to 1Mpa and L is the length of the side
=266.80m.
Pressure (Mpa)
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Sensitivity
1.22310-6
2.44610-6
3.67010-6
4.89310-6
6.11710-6
7.34010-6
8.56310-6
9.78710-5
0.0531x10-5
III. RECTANGLE DIAPHRAGM:

The rectangle diaphragm is commonly used in
applications as it occupy lesser area and enable easier
fabrication and lithography.
For a rectangle shaped diaphragm the change in the
capacitance is given by [2], [3]
c = [(1-2) Pb4/Eh3] [orA/d2]]
Where c is change in capacitance is permittivity is
poisons ratio, A is area of moving plate, E is youngs
modulus, h is the thickness, d is the gap between the
plates and P is the pressure and b is the smaller side
(width) of the diaphragm and is the ratio of length to
width of the diaphragm.
So, here for the rectangular diaphragm the poisons ratio
is 0.22,youngs modulus is 170Gpa,distance between the
plate is 10m,thickness is 6m, is 1.46 and the
pressure range is from 0 to 1Mpa.
Pressure (Mpa)
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Sensitivity
5.53410-11
1.10610-10
1.66010-10
2.21310-10
2.76710-10
3.32010-10
3.87310-10
4.42710-10
4.98010-10
________________________________________________________________________________________________
26

________________________________________________________________________________________________
No. of Vertical Elements
:8
No. of Edge Elements
: 152
No of Boundary Elements
: 1400
No .of Elements
: 1891
Minimum Element Quality

:0.3483
MEMS TOOL USED: COMSOLMULTIPHYSICS 4.0
Courtesy:
ANDHRA
CENTER, Vizag, AP
UNIVERSITY
NPMASS
IV. CONCLUSION:
We have designed, simulated and analyzed the
capacitive pressure sensor diaphragm with three shapes
i.e circular, rectangle and square diaphragms. Among
the three shapes the circular diaphragm has got the best
senstivity due to ease of fabrication and low cost due to
symettry and widely used for large diflections and more
suitable for bio medical applications and automotive.
Square diaphragm can be used upto some extent in
aeronatical applications and rectangular diaphragm can
be used in biomedical applications. But from the
senstivity point of view the circualr diaphragm can be
used in the mems pressure applications.
REFERENCES:
[1]
F. He, Q. A. Huang, and M. Qin, A silicon

directly bonded capacitive
absolute pressure
sensor, Sensors and Actuators A vol. 135, pp.
507514, 2007.
[2]
S. Timoshenko and S. Woinowsky- Krieger,

Theory of Plates and Shells, New York,
McGraw-Hill., 1959.
[3]
Y. Zhang, R. Howver, B. Gogoi* and N. Yazdi

Evigia Systems, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan,
USA A High-Sensitive Ultra-Thin MEMS
Capacitive Pressure Sensor
[4]
Prasad N Acharya Sujata Naduvinamani Design

and Simulation of MEMS based Micro Pressure
Sensor
[5]
Y. Hezarjaribi, M.N. Hamidon and et.al

Analytical and Simulation Evaluation
for
Diaphragms Deflection and its Applications to
Touch Mode MEMS
Capacitive Pressure
Sensors
l =321.21m, b = 220m
________________________________________________________________________________________________
27

Circular Diaphragm

Uploaded by

Circular Diaphragm

Uploaded by

International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Systems (IJEECS)

Studies on effect of geometry of a silicon based diaphragm on the

M. Srinagesh, 2K. Durga Aparna & 3D.V.Ramakoti Reddy

Instrument Technology Department, Andhra University, Vizag.

II. CIRCULAR DIAPHRAGM:

The proposed pressure sensor parameters are radius of the

For a circular shaped pressure sensor the change in

Where c is change in capacitance, P is the pressure

International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Systems (IJEECS)

No. of Edge Elements

For a square shaped pressure sensor the change in

c = [0.01512(1-2) PL4/Eh3] [orA/d2]]

Minimum Element Quality

MEMS TOOL USED: COMSOLMULTIPHYSICS 4.0

Where c is change in capacitance, is permittivity, is

So, here for the square diaphragm the poisons ratio is

International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Systems (IJEECS)

III. RECTANGLE DIAPHRAGM:

International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Systems (IJEECS)

No. of Edge Elements

Minimum Element Quality

F. He, Q. A. Huang, and M. Qin, A silicon

S. Timoshenko and S. Woinowsky- Krieger,

Y. Zhang, R. Howver, B. Gogoi* and N. Yazdi

Prasad N Acharya Sujata Naduvinamani Design

Y. Hezarjaribi, M.N. Hamidon and et.al

You might also like