Introduction to BioMEMS & Medical Microdevices

Sensor Principles and Microsensors Part 1

Companion lecture to the textbook: Fundamentals of BioMEMS and Medical Microdevices, by
Prof. Steven S. Saliterman, www.tc.umn.edu/~drsteve

What is a sensor?
A sensor converts one form of energy to
another, and in so doing detects and
conveys information about some
physical, chemical or biological
phenomena.
More specifically, a sensor is a
transducer that converts the measurand
(a quantity or a parameter) into a signal
that carries information.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Features of an ideal sensor:

Continuous operation without effecting the
measurand.
Appropriate sensitivity and selectivity.
Fast and predictable response.
Reversible behavior.
High signal to noise ratio.
Compact
Immunity to environment.
Easy to calibrate.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Examples of Sensor Methods

Piezoelectric Sensors

Direct Piezoelectric Effect

Acoustic Wave Propagation

Quart crystal microbalance

MEMS Structures
Thermal Sensing
Thermal and Non-Thermal Flow Sensing
Electrochemical Sensors
Ion Selective Field Effect Transistors
Optical Sensors
Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Piezoelectric Sensors

Direct transduction from mechanical to electrical

domains and vice versa. May be used as sensors or
actuators.
The reversible and linear piezoelectric effect manifests
as the production of a charge (voltage) upon
application of stress (direct effect) and/or as the
production of strain (stress) upon application of an
electric field (converse effect).
Three modes of operation depending on how the
piezoelectric material is cut: transverse, longitudinal
and shear.
Amplifiers are needed to detect the small voltage.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Example: Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT)

SEM image of an etched feature in PZT ceramic

substrate with feature dimensions of 3 x 15 m.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Piezoelectric Materials

Crystals

Ceramics

Quart SiO2
Berlinite AlPO4
Gallium
Orthophosphate GaPO4
Tourmaline (complex chemical structure)
Barium titanate BaTiO3
Lead zirconate titanate PZT, Pb [ZrxTi1-x] O3 ; x = 0,52

Other Materials

Zinc oxide ZnO

Aluminum nitride AlN
Polyvinylidene fluoride PVDF

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Adopted from Piezomaterials.com

Direct and Converse Piezoelectric Effects

Converse Piezoelectric Effect - Application of an electrical field
creates mechanical deformation in the crystal.

Polling - Random
domains are aligned
in a strong electric
field at an elevated
temperature.

Direct Piezoelectric Effect - When a mechanical stress (compressive or

tensile) is applied a voltage is generated across the material.
.
Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Adopted from bme240.eng.uci.edu

Typical Piezoelectric Circuit

VOut

QT RF

CT CP R1

VOut

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

QT

CF

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Configurations

Piezoelectric sensors maybe configured as

direct mechanical transducers or as resonators.
The observed resonance frequency and
amplitude are determined by the physical
dimensions, material and mechanical and
interfacial inputs to the device.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Two Modes of Operation

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Approaches to Fabrication

There are essentially three approaches

to realizing piezoelectric MEMS devices:
1.

Deposition of piezoelectric thin films on

silicon substrates with appropriate
insulating and conducting layers followed
by surface or silicon bulk micromachining
to realize the micromachined transducer
(additive approach).

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

2.

3.

Direct bulk micromachining of single

crystal or polycrystalline piezoelectrics and
piezoceramics (subtractive approach).
Integrate micromachined structures in
silicon via bonding techniques onto bulk
piezoelectric substrates (integrative
approach).

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Approaches to Fabrication

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Piezoelectric Thin Films

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Dry Etching Characteristics

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Illustration of Surface Micromachining

(a) Substrate silicon wafer.
(b) Silicon substrate surface is thermally
oxidized.
(c) Bottom electrode such as a (1 1 1) platinum
film is deposited.
(d) The piezoelectric thin film is deposited and
annealed.
(e) Top electrode metal such as Cr/Au is
deposited.
(f) The entire piezoelectric, electrodes and
passive layer stack is patterned and etch to
expose the substrate silicon.
(g) Substrate silicon is etched from the front
side using anisotropic wet etchant or
isotropic vapor phase XeF2 etchant while
protecting the transducer stack.
(h) Alternatively, the substrate silicon is
anisotropically etched from backside to
release the transducer structure.
Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Piezoelectric Effects

The piezoelectric effect is a linear phenomenon where

deformation is proportional to an electric field:
S

dE and D

dT

Where
S is the mechanical strain,
d is the piezoelectric coefficient,
E is the electric field,
D is the displacment (or charge density) linearly, and
T is the stress.

These equations are known as the converse

piezoelectric effect and the direct piezoelectric effect
respectively.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Piezoelectric Constitutive Equations

Si sijET j dkl Ek
Dl dlmTm

TE
ln n

Where
i, j, m 1 to 6; and k , l, n 1 to 3,
S is the strain,
D is the dielectric displacement (or charge density),
E is the electric field,
T is the stress, and
sijE , d kl and

T
ln

are the elastic compliances.

(The superscripts E and T refer to measurement at a constant field and stress. )

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Surface Acoustic Waves

Generation of surface acoustic waves (SAW)

in quartz by interdigitated transducers:

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Gardner, JW, VK Varadan and OO Awadelkarim, Microsensors, MEMS and

Smart Devices. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. W. Sussex (2001).

Delay-line SAW

Typically with a sensing film such polyimide deposited on the

surface in the area between the interdigitated transducers:

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Gardner, JW, VK Varadan and OO Awadelkarim, Microsensors, MEMS and

Smart Devices. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. W. Sussex (2001).

Two Port Delay Line and Resonator

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Tadigadapa, S., and K. Mateti. 2009. Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-theart and perspectives. Measurement Science & Technology 20, no. 9:092001.

Calculating SAW Velocity

The change in SAW velocity is related to the mass of a

thin loss-less film on the sensor surface (left):

The change in SAW velocity can be determined

experimentally by measuring the phase shift or the
frequency shift (right).
VR
VR

(k1

V
VR

k2 ) fh

f
f0

Where
VR is the SAW velocity,

Where
f is the frequency change,

k1 and k2 are the substrate material constants,

f 0 is the intial SAW frequency,

f is the SAW frequency,

h is the height of the layer, and
is the density of the thin film layer.
Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

is the phase shift, and

is the total degrees of phase in the sensor delay path
(as measured between the centers of the IDTs)

Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM)

Mass-sensitive devices suitable for detecting a variety of

analytes. Thin AT-cut quartz wafer with a diameter of 0.251.0 inches, sandwiched between two metal electrodes
which are used to establish an electric field across the
crystal:

Chimique.usherbrooke.ca

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Cahayaalone.blogspot.com

Sauerbrey Equation

Mass changes on the QCM surface result in a

frequency change according to the Sauerbrey
equation:
f

2 f02 m
A Q Q

Where
f is the change in frequency,
f0 is the resonant frequency of the quartz resonator,
m is the mass change,
A is the active vibrating area
Q

is the is the shear modulus of the quartz, and

is the the density of quartz

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

MEMS Structures

Construction:
a)
b)
c)

Cantilever beam,
Bridge structure,
Diagram or
membrane.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Detection Methods:

Electrical,
Magnetic,
Optical,
Acoustic.

Gardner, JW, VK Varadan and OO Awadelkarim, Microsensors, MEMS and

Smart Devices. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. W. Sussex (2001).

Cantilever Beam

The displacement x of the beam is related to

the applied force and length of the beam:
x

l3
F or Fx
3Em I m x

km x (km is the spring constant)

Where
Em is Young's modulus,
I m is the second moment of inertia,
Fx is the force or point load, and
l is the length.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Gardner, JW, VK Varadan and OO Awadelkarim, Microsensors, MEMS and

Smart Devices. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. W. Sussex (2001).

Bridge Structure

The sinusoidal solution for displacement x of a bridge

structure is:
x

A sin

Fy
Em I m y

and FCritical

Em I m
(the buckling force)
2
l

Where
A is a constant,
Em is Young's modulus,
I m is the second moment of inertia,
Fy is the force and
l is the length.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

MEMS Sensor Piezoelectric Pressure

Piezoresistive pressure sensor

with reference pressure cavity
inside chip.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Esashi, Masayoshi. 2012. Revolution of Sensors in Micro-Electromechanical

Systems. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 51, no. 8:080001.

MEMS Sensor Capacitive Pressure

Integrated capacitive
pressure sensor fabricated
by wafer level packaging.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Esashi, Masayoshi. 2012. Revolution of Sensors in Micro-Electromechanical

Systems. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 51, no. 8:080001.

MEMS Sensor SAW Pressure

Principle and photograph of SAW passive wireless

pressure sensor and example of measurement
(change in time converted into phase).
Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Esashi, Masayoshi. 2012. Revolution of Sensors in Micro-Electromechanical

Systems. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 51, no. 8:080001.

MEMS Sensor Tactile Sensor

Common two-wire tactile sensor network that

sequentially selects sensors.
Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Esashi, Masayoshi. 2012. Revolution of Sensors in Micro-Electromechanical

Systems. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 51, no. 8:080001.

MEMS Sensor Tactile Sensor

Schematic of eventdriven (interrupt)
tactile sensor
network, example of
operation, and
photographs of
prototype IC.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Esashi, Masayoshi. 2012. Revolution of Sensors in Micro-Electromechanical

Systems. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 51, no. 8:080001.

MEMS Sensor - Accelerometer

Poly-Si surface
micromachined integrated
accelerometer (cross
sectional structure and
photographs of two-axis
accelerometer).

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Esashi, Masayoshi. 2012. Revolution of Sensors in Micro-Electromechanical

Systems. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 51, no. 8:080001.

MEMS Sensor - Accelerometer

Schematic of
accelerometer with
thick epitaxial poly-Si
layer and photograph
of resonant gyroscope.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Esashi, Masayoshi. 2012. Revolution of Sensors in Micro-Electromechanical

Systems. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 51, no. 8:080001.

MEMS Sensor Yaw & Acceleration

Automotive sensor
for yaw rate and
acceleration.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Esashi, Masayoshi. 2012. Revolution of Sensors in Micro-Electromechanical

Systems. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 51, no. 8:080001.

MEMS Sensor - Gyroscope

Two-axis resonant
gyroscope used for image
stabilization (photograph
and schematic).

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Esashi, Masayoshi. 2012. Revolution of Sensors in Micro-Electromechanical

Systems. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 51, no. 8:080001.

Apollo 11 Gyroscope 1969

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Gyroscope image courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/blafetra/14524883649

Sensor Fusion: Adafruit BN0055

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Absolute Orientation (Euler Vector, 100Hz) Three

axis orientation data based on a 360 sphere.
Absolute Orientation (Quaterion, 100Hz) Four
point quaternion output for more accurate data
manipulation.
Angular Velocity Vector (100Hz)
Three axis of 'rotation speed' in rad/s.
Acceleration Vector (100Hz)
Three axis of acceleration (gravity + linear motion)
in m/s^2.
Magnetic Field Strength Vector (20Hz) Three axis
of magnetic field sensing in micro Tesla (uT).
Linear Acceleration Vector (100Hz) Three axis of
linear acceleration data (acceleration minus gravity)
in m/s^2.
Gravity Vector (100Hz) Three axis of gravitational
acceleration (minus any movement) in m/s^2.
Temperature (1Hz) Ambient temperature in
degrees celsius.
Courtesy of Adafruit

Thermosensors

Platinum resistor:
Linear, stable, reproducible.
Material property dependency on
temperature,

Thermocouples (e.g.. Type K)

Thermistor: a semiconductor device
made of materials whose resistance
varies as a function of temperature.
Thermodiode and Thermotransistor.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Thermocouple

Potentiometric devices fabricated by the joining of two

different metals forming a sensing junction:

Based on the thermoelectric Seebeck effect in which a

temperature difference in a conductor or semiconductor
creates an electric voltage:

Where
V is the electrical voltage,
s

is the Seebeck coefficient expressed in volts/K , and

T is the temperature difference (TS - Tref ).

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Gardner, JW, VK Varadan and OO Awadelkarim, Microsensors, MEMS and

Smart Devices. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. W. Sussex (2001).

Thermodiode and Thermotransistor

When a p-n diode is operated in a constant current (IO)

circuit, the forward voltage (Vout) is directly proportional
to the absolute temperature (PTAT).

Vout

k BT
I
ln
q
IS

Where
kb is the Bolzman constant,
T is temperature,
q is the charge on an electron,
I is the operating current and
I S is the saturation current.
Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Gardner, JW, VK Varadan and OO Awadelkarim, Microsensors, MEMS and

Smart Devices. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. W. Sussex (2001).

Thermal Flow Sensing

Hot wire or hot element anemometers.

Based on convective heat exchange taking
place when the fluid flow passes over the
sensing element (hot body).
Operate in constant temperature mode or in
constant current mode.

Calorimetric sensors.

Based on the monitoring of the asymmetry

of temperature profile around the hot body
which is modulated by the fluid flow.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Thermal Flow Sensor

The heat transferred per unit time from a resistive wire

heater to a moving liquid is monitored with a
thermocouple:

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Gardner, JW, VK Varadan and OO Awadelkarim, Microsensors, MEMS and

Smart Devices. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. W. Sussex (2001).

In a steady state, the mass flow rate can be

determined: Q dm Ph (T T )
m

dt

cm

Where
Qm is the mass flow rate,
Ph is the heat transferred per unit time,
cm is the specific heat capacity of the fluid and
T1 , T2 are temperature.

The volumetric flow rate is calculated as

follows:
dV Qm
Q
V

dt

Where
QV is the volumetric flow rate,
Qm is the mass flow rate and
m

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

is the density.

Thermal Flow Sensor with Thermopile

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Silvestri, S. and E. Schena Micromachined Flow Sensors in Biomedical

Applications. Micromachines 2012, 3, 225-243

Non-Thermal Flow Sensors

Cantilever type flow sensors

Measuring the drag-force on a cantilever beam.

Differential pressure-based flow sensors

When a fluid flow passes through a duct, or over a surface, it produces a

pressure drop depending on the mean velocity of the fluid.

Electromagnetic
Laser Doppler flowmeter

Lift-force and drag flow sensors

Based on the force acting on a body located in a fluid flow.

Microrotor

The phenomenon is due to the interaction between an electromagnetic or

acoustic wave and a moving object: the wave is reflected back showing a
frequency different from the incident one.

Rotating turbine

Resonating flow sensors

Temperature effects resonance frequency of a vibrating membrane.

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Silvestri, S. and E. Schena Micromachined Flow Sensors in Biomedical

Applications. Micromachines 2012, 3, 225-243

Cantilever Type Sensor

Able to Sense Direction

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP

Silvestri, S. and E. Schena Micromachined Flow Sensors in Biomedical

Applications. Micromachines 2012, 3, 225-243

Summary

A sensor is a transducer that converts the

measurand (a quantity or a parameter) into a
signal that carries information.

The piezoelectric effect is a linear

phenomenon where deformation is
proportional to an electric field.
Mass changes on the QCM surface result in a
frequency change according to the Sauerbrey
equation.
MEMS Structures and Sensors
Thermo Sensors
Flow Sensors
Magnetic Sensors

Steven S. Saliterman, MD, FACP