On the Design of a MEMS Multisensor Instrument for Aerodynamic Pressure Measurements

In this paper we present the concept of a novel MEMS multisensor instrument for aerodynamic pressure measurements, and discuss the main aspects of its design. Designing of such instrument is a complex task, especially because of high requirements regarding miniaturization, measurement performance, the number of pressure measurement channels, and other features. The main goal of the presented work is to address these requirements in an innovative way. A novel multisensor chip, which has been designed and fabricated, is an important step towards further miniaturization and higher measurement performance of aerodynamic pressure measurement instruments. Multisensor modules, which contain the multisensor chips and accompanying connections and circuitry, enable modularity and reconfigurability of the instrument. The novel hardware architecture has a separate signal path for each of the pressure channels, and is capable of synchronous pressure measurement on all channels. Digital signal processing enables high measurement performance, and can be used to implement fault detection capabilities. The final goal of the presented work is to combine these concepts into a high-performance and innovative instrument for aerodynamic testing, which is a useful tool for several scientific and industrial fields.