The UDM research project is aimed at the development and prototype production of piezoresistive absolute pressure sensors with ultra-small dimensions yet very high sensitivities based on single-crystal MSTS membranes.
The basis for this is an MSTS membrane technology developed at the CiS Research Institute. First, hole arrays with a diameter or spacing of < 1 µm and a depth of around 8 µm are etched into the wafer. In a subsequent high-temperature step at around 1150°C under a reducing H2 atmosphere, the surface atoms rearrange in such a way that the holes initially round off until their surface closes and these individual cavities later combine to form a large cavity. The result is a defect-free, monocrystalline silicon membrane.
This MSTS technology will be further optimized in the project and developed into customer-specific sensor applications. The ultra-small absolute pressure sensors envisaged should have edge lengths of around 500 µm, be designed for a pressure range of approx. 1 bar and achieve a resolution of around 1 Pa, which corresponds to a height difference of approx. 10 cm.
The research and development work described is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) in the research project “Ultra-small pressure sensors based on MSTS membranes” (UDM).
Funding code: 49MF230075
