Currently, silicon-strain-gauge-based diaphragm pressure sensors use four single-gauge chips for high-output sensitivity. However, the four-single-gauge configuration increases the number of glass frit bonds and the number of aluminum wire bonds, reducing the long-term stability, reliability, and yield of the diaphragm pressure sensor. In this study, a new design of general-purpose silicon strain gauges was developed to improve the sensor output voltage while reducing the number of bonds. The new gauges consist grid patterns with a reciprocating arc of silicon piezoresistors on a thin glass backing. The gauges make handling easier in the bonding process due to the use of thin glass for the gauge backing. The pressure sensors were tested under pressure ranging from 0 to 50 bar at five different temperatures, with a linear output with a typical sensitivity of approximately 16 mV/V/bar and an offset shift of -6 mV to 2 mV. The new approach also opens the possibility to extend arc strain gauges to half-bridge and full-bridge configurations to further reduce the number of glass frit and Al wire bonds in the diaphragm pressure sensor.
Keywords: bulk micromachining; glass frit bonding; pressure sensor; reciprocating arc strain gauge; steel diaphragm.