Abstract
Thin polycrystalline diamond films chemically vapor deposited on thinned silicon substrates were used as membranes for pressure sensor fabrication by means of selective chemical etching of silicon. The sensing element is based on a simple low-finesse Fabry–Pérot (FP) interferometer. The FP cavity is defined by the end-face of a single mode fiber and the diamond diaphragm surface. Hence, pressure is evaluated by measuring the cavity length by an optoelectronic system coupled to the single mode fiber. Exploiting the excellent properties of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond, in terms of high hardness, low thermal expansion, and ultra-high thermal conductivity, the realized sensors have been characterized up to 16.5 MPa at room temperature. Preliminary characterizations demonstrate the feasibility of such diamond-on-Si membrane structure for pressure transduction. The proposed sensing system represents a valid alternative to conventional solutions, overcoming the drawback related to electromagnetic interference on the acquired weak signals generated by standard piezoelectric sensors.
Highlights
Diamond represents an attractive material in different fields and applications due to its peculiar chemical and physical characteristics
We show the design and realization of pressure sensors based on thin diamond diaphragms
The diamond film was grown by microwave plasma-assisted CVD technique (MPCVD) on a Si substrate
Summary
Diamond represents an attractive material in different fields and applications due to its peculiar chemical and physical characteristics. Despite its excellent mechanical and tribological properties, applications of natural diamond have been limited by the high cost due to the scarcity of useful size for gems, as well as the necessary mechanical post-treatments. The progress of research in high-quality diamond synthesis by means of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) techniques has promoted the use of diamond in different engineering tasks, both because of the excellent properties of grown material and because of the reduction in diamond production costs [1]. SC diamond of very high purity can be obtained having an electronic grade quality, while PCD display interesting characteristics in terms of mechanical, electronic, and optical properties combined with large film area [1,2]. First of all, being a wide bandgap semiconductor
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