Design for Silicon Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor Chips

Although the silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor chips using nonflat diaphragms (NFDs) can effectively overcome the bottleneck of performance optimization caused by the tradeoff between sensitivity and linearity, the design process is relatively difficult because of the lack of standardized choice mechanism of NFD and the huge workload of finite element analysis (FEA). To improve this situation, a set of design criteria for silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor chips using NFDs are proposed in this article based on the theoretical analysis of the working principle of the chips. A standardized design process based on these design criteria is also proposed and applied to the optimal design of a chip using an NFD with an island. This optimization case suggests that the proposed standardized design process has the advantages of standardizing the choice mechanism of NFD and reducing the workload of FEA, which is convenient, practical, and self-consistency. This study has a certain guiding significance for the design of silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor chips using NFDs.