A micromachined silicon capacitive temperature sensor for radiosonde applications

A novel silicon capacitive temperature sensor implemented with micromachined multilayer cantilevers is presented. The multi-layered sensor structure has been fabricated with SOI wafers by a 4-mask process. Using this structure, the low-power dissipation and wide temperature range can be achieved. For the present sensor, the temperature range is from -70°C to 100°C with the sensitivity of 7 fF/°C. This makes it suitable to serve as a temperature sensor for low-power and wide temperature range applications.