A novel readout system for wireless passive pressure sensors

Huixin Zhang,Binger Ge,Ting Liang,Yingping Hong,Jijun Xiong

doi:10.1007/s13320-013-0155-y

Huixin Zhang, Binger Ge + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-013-0155-y

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Journal: Photonic Sensors	Publication Date: Jan 3, 2014
Citations: 20	License type: CC BY 2.0

Affiliation: North University of China

Abstract

This paper presents a novel readout system for wireless passive pressure sensors based on the inductively coupled inductor and cavity (LC) resonant circuits. The proposed system consists of a reader antenna inductively coupled to the sensor circuit, a readout circuit, and a personal computer (PC) post processing unit. The readout circuit generates a voltage signal representing the sensor’s capacitance. The frequency of the reader antenna driving signal is a constant, which is equal to the sensor’s resonant frequency at zero pressure. Based on mechanical and electrical modeling, the pressure sensor design based on the high temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC) technology is conducted and discussed. The functionality and accuracy of the readout system are tested with a voltage-capacitance measurement system and demonstrated in a realistic pressure measurement environment, so that the overall performance and the feasibility of the readout system are proved.

Highlights

In some harsh environment applications, it is almost impractical to connect the pressure sensitive element to the conditioning electronics by the standard cables to measure the pressure, for example, in the automotive or biomedical field when the packages are inside the human body or upon rotating systems, for example in the industrial field when the harsh environment is incompatible with electronics
The sensors are composed of a capacitance cavity which is sensitive to the external pressure and a planar spiral inductor which is connected to the capacitance to form an LC resonant circuit, and they have been widely used in many applications [1,2,3,4]
A wireless passive pressure sensor based on the high temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC) technology is realized, and the variation of the sensor’s capacitance caused by the pressure applied is detected by a designed wireless pressure sensing system

Summary

Introduction

In some harsh environment applications, it is almost impractical to connect the pressure sensitive element to the conditioning electronics by the standard cables to measure the pressure, for example, in the automotive or biomedical field when the packages are inside the human body or upon rotating systems, for example in the industrial field when the harsh environment is incompatible with electronics. Impedance or network analyzers are used as readout devices for the resonance sensors [5, 6]. Huixin ZHANG et al.: A Novel Readout System for Wireless Passive Pressure Sensors measurement method outside the laboratory environment. A novel readout system for the wireless passive pressure sensor capable of operating in harsh environments for pressure monitoring is proposed. A wireless passive pressure sensor based on the high temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC) technology is realized, and the variation of the sensor’s capacitance caused by the pressure applied is detected by a designed wireless pressure sensing system. This system realizes the test of the sensor without the network analyzer or network analyzer, and all could contribute to the integration and promotion of the wireless passive pressure sensors

Sensor design and analysis

Electrical model and simulation

Instrumentation

Experiments

Conclusions