Capacitive differential pressure sensor

• US 6,568,275 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2002
• Issued: 05/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ABB Patent GmbH (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: ABB Patent GmbH (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Scholz, Wolfgang, Krippner, Peter, Binz, Dieter, Vogel, Albrecht
• Primary Examiner(s): OEN, WILLIAM L
• Application Number:
  US10/172,275
• Publication Number:
  US 20020194921A1
• Time in Patent Office: 347 Days
• Field of Search: 737/06, 737/18, 737/24, 361/283.1, 361/283.2, 361/283.3, 361/283.4, 156/272.2, 156/273.1
• US Class Current: 73/718
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 9/0073 using a semiconductive diaphragm

Abstract

There is described a capacitive differential pressure sensor made using glass-silicon technology with a diaphragm plate of silicon, which is arranged between two carrier plates consisting of glass. The diaphragm plate has pressure-sensitively deflectable regions, which are respectively provided with a capacitor arrangement. The capacitor arrangement is connected to a measured-value processing device through connecting conductors. To improve the ratio of the measuring capacitances to the parasitic capacitances brought about by the connecting conductors, the diaphragm plate is outside the pressure-sensitively deflectable region the substrate of an electronic circuit which comprises at least one input stage of the measured-value processing device.

Claims

1. A capacitive differential pressure sensor comprising:

a. two glass carrier plates; and

b. a diaphragm plate of silicon serving as a first electrode and with a pressure-sensitively deflectable region arranged between said two carrier plates;

said diaphragm plate and each carrier plate being integrally connected to one another in their edge region by anodic bonding such that each of said two carrier plates combine with said diaphragm plate to form a measuring chamber, each of said carrier plates having a pressure supply duct, which runs perpendicular to the contact surfaces of said diaphragm plate and of said carrier plates and through which the respective measuring chamber can be pressurized, the surfaces of said carrier plates lying adjacent said deflectable region of said diaphragm plate forming a first electrode and said surfaces of said carrier plates lying opposite the deflectable region of the diaphragm plate are each provided with a metallization, serving as a second electrode, in such a way that the first electrode and the second electrodes form a differential-pressure-dependent capacitor arrangement

said diaphragm plate outside of said pressure-sensitively deflectable region is the substrate of an electronic circuit which comprises at least one input stage of a measured-value processing device which is connected to said capacitor arrangement and the output signal of which can be transmitted to a next-following stage of said measured-value processing device electrically connected to said at least one input stage without any loss of information and independent of any parameters of said electrical connection.

2. The differential pressure sensor of claim 1 wherein said input stage of said measured-value processing device comprises a delta-sigma modulator.

3. The differential pressure sensor of claim 2 wherein said sigma-delta modulator has an integration capacitor formed by said capacitor arrangement of said differential pressure sensor.