Simulation of a Sensitive Element of a MEMS-based Pressure Sensor Operating on The Thermal Detection Principle

Currently, great interest of the scientific community is attracted to the creation of miniature and highly sensitive pressure sensors, which is associated with their demand in a wide range of applications: in tele - and biomedicine, the automotive and aerospace industry. In this work, we propose an original design of a novel sensor with a thermal method for measuring applied pressure based on the micromechanical deformation of a composite dielectric membrane located near a thermosensitive thin-film thermocouple, which was not considered previously. It was found that the proposed design of the pressure sensor with a membrane-based thermal principle of operation provides maximum sensitivity of about 25 mK/Pa in a wide range of measured pressures (from 0.1 Pa to 100 kPa), which can be effectively used in modern altimeters for aircraft and unmanned vehicle control systems.