Design, Fabrication and Characterization of SAW Pressure Sensors for Extreme Operation Conditions

Abstract

In this work, the design, fabrication and characterization of a pressure sensor based on a surface acoustic wave (SAW) two-port resonator is presented. The devise is built on a thick ST-Cut quartz substrate focusing low cost production for distributed sensors applications. The sensor is able to operate under extreme harsh conditions: high temperature (150° C) and high pressure (15000 psi). Results show that, by using a 4 mm substrate, the sensor is able to support high pressure, with sensitivity of 14 Hz/psi. The sensor presents linear behavior and 1% resolution of full scale was obtained.