Silicon pressure sensor

2 March 2011 Test & Measurement

STMicroelectronics’ new LPS001WP is a tiny silicon pressure sensor that uses an innovative technology to provide extremely high-resolution measurements of pressure – and therefore also of altitude – in a compact and thin package.

One of the first expected applications is the enhancement of portable devices equipped with traditional GPS functions that can only identify the location of the device in two dimensions. With the addition of the LPS001WP, the same devices would be able to identify the precise location in all three dimensions, allowing, for example, a mobile phone to send a call to an emergency fire, medical or police service that identified not only the location of the building but also the particular floor.

The LPS001WP has an operating pressure range of 300–1100 millibar, corresponding to the atmospheric pressures between -750 and +9000 metres relative to sea level, and can detect pressure changes as small as 0,065 millibar, corresponding to 80 cm of altitude. The device is fabricated using a proprietary ST technology called ‘VENSENS’ that allows the pressure sensor to be fabricated on a monolithic silicon chip. Manufacturing the device in this way eliminates

wafer-to-wafer bonding and maximises reliability.

The pressure sensor in the chip is based on a flexible silicon membrane formed above an air cavity with a controlled gap and defined pressure. The membrane is very small compared to traditional silicon micro-machined membranes and is protected from breakage by built-in mechanical stoppers. The membrane includes a piezoresistor, a tiny structure whose electrical resistance varies as the membrane flexes in response to changes in the external pressure. The change in resistance is monitored, thermally compensated and converted to a digital value that can be read by the equipment’s host processor using the industry-standard I C or SPI communications protocols.

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