International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol.7 No.

11 (2012)
© Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm

Simulation Of Mems Based Capacitive Pressure Sensor Using Comsol Multiphysics

Gitesh Mishra, Neha Paras, Arti Arora, P.J.George

Kurukshetra Institute of Technology & Management, Kurukshetra

giteshmishra001@gmail.com, neharao1993@gmail.com

Abstract used & comparisons between them using various parameters

In today’s scenario, designing of the device before actual
fabrication is very necessary to save economy and time both.
The present work demonstrates the design of MEMS based
capacitive pressure sensor using Comsol Multiphysics. It
allows detailed visualization of various structures’ bend or
twist, and indicates distributions of stresses and displacements
and provides a wide range of simulation options. Deflection,
Eigen frequency and stress of the capacitive pressure sensor
are computed. The capacitance measurement is simulated for a
capacitive pressure sensor for a capacitance of about 2.12e-14
farad.
Keywords— MEMS, COMSOL Multiphysics, Capacitive
pressure sensor, deflection, displacement.
Introduction
Micromachined pressure sensors have been developed because
of their small size, high performance, high reliability and low
cost [1]. Different kind of pressure sensors are piezoresistive,
piezoelectric, capacitive sensors which have been widely used
in automotive fields [2-4]. Capacitive sensors have attracted
attention because of their high sensitivity when compared with
other sensors. Pressure sensors are required in applications
including bio-medical systems, environmental monitoring and
industrial process control. Capacitive pressure sensors provide
very high pressure sensitivity, have low noise, give rapid
response to change in pressure, can withstand a lot of
vibration, have low temperature sensitivity and are preferred
in many emerging high performance applications [5-8].
Micromachined capacitive pressure sensors have typically
used an elastic diaphragm with fixed edges and a sealed cavity
in between the diaphragm and the substrate below.
The capacitive pressure sensor uses a pair of parallel
plates which forms a capacitor. The upper plate acts as
movable plate which is fixed from four sides. When pressure
is applied on the upper plate it deforms which changes the
distance between two plates of capacitor. This change in
capacitance can then be observed to sense the pressure.
The paper explores the design parameters of MEMS
based capacitive pressure sensor using FEM (Finite Element
Modeling). It consists of two silicon plates with air as a
dielectric between the two layers. Sandwiched-type
constructions with deformable intermediate layers have been
used in some micro-machined sensors as well as commercial
pressure mapping systems [9]. The present work demonstrates
the deflection, stress, Eigen frequency analysis of capacitive
pressure sensor.
The behavior of square diaphragm by applying variable
load on it is studied. It emphasizes on the type of substrate
like stress, displacement etc. It also presents the best known
behavior on Eigen frequency for square diaphragm. Square
diaphragm is chosen because it gives maximum displacement
on account of variable load. It is observed on COMSOL multi-
physics that when square, hexagon and circular shape of
diaphragm of same dimensions are taken, then square gives
the maximum displacement, hence it is more sensitive than
others.
Design parameters
Design of a device depends on various parameters like
material, structure and shape etc. All the parameters are
needed to be optimized to obtain the desired specification of
the device. The design started with the selection of the
substrate material and its properties. In the present work,
single-crystal silicon having Young’s modulus of 169 GPa and
Poisson’s ratio 0.33 has been used. Silicon is chosen because
of its high melting point, low thermal expansion coefficient,
less mechanical hysteresis [10] etc. Based on these properties
used, the shape of the diaphragm was optimized. Square shape
has been chosen as shown in Fig-1, due to the ease of
anisotropic etching of the silicon in bulk. All the parameters
necessary for the design of capacitive pressure sensors are
optimized for this shape.
Fig-1 capacitive pressure sensor Diaphragm
The optimized dimensions of silicon diaphragm are
60µm*60µm*1.5µm. Stress, Displacement and Eigen
frequency is optimized using these dimensions of square
diaphragm.
Capacitive pressure sensor consists of two parallel plates,
lower plate is fixed while the upper plate is movable. When
pressure is applied on the upper plate it deforms which
changes the distance between two plates of capacitor. The
change in capacitance is then observed. The concept of
parallel plate capacitor is expressed as follows
 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol.7 No.11 (2012)
© Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm

C = εoεr (1) The diaphragm deflection is found to be linear with the

variation in the load applied on the upper plate of the
diaphragm. Fig-4 shows that the deflection or displacement in
Where, ‘εo’ is the permittivity of free space and ‘εr’ is the
the diaphragm follows the Hooke’s law [11].
dielectric constant of the material between the plates of the
Also, Fig-5 shows the stress behavior of diaphragm with
capacitance. ‘A’ is the overlapping area of the plates used, and
respect to variable load. It also obeys the Hooke’s law. The
‘d’ is the distance between the two plates. A realization
range for variable load is kept from 0-1000 N/m2 and the step
function of this concept would be that the plates of the
size is 100.
capacitor could move close to each other. The distance
between two plates will decrease resulting in increase of
capacitance of sensor as shown in Fig-2 simulated using FEM.

Fig-4 Curve of displacement vs. variable load

Fig 2: Capacitance vs. Distance curve

Resonance (Eigen) frequency of the pressure sensor has

been optimized using Solid, Stress-Strain MEMS module. It is
found that frequency increases with increase in thicknesses as
higher frequency is needed for vibration of the silicon
diaphragm.

Simulation result
The deflection of the diaphragm after simulation is shown in
Fig. 3

Fig-5 Stress measurement on diaphragm with variable load

Similarly, Eigen frequency and frequency response is

calculated for the Diaphragm. Fig-6 shows the frequency
response curve. The calculated Eigen frequency is 6.79 MHz

Fig-3 Deflection of diaphragm

 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol.7 No.11 (2012)
© Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm

S. H. Keshmiri, University of Ferdowsi, Mashhad, Iran

Fig-6 Frequency response curve
“Capacitive pressure sensor technology and
applications”, ICSE 2008 Proceedings. 2008, Johor
Bahru, Malaysia.
[9] Toshihiko Omi, Syo Saskai, Fumihiko Sato and Mikio
Matsumoto, Central R&D Laboratory Corporate
Research and Development Headquarters, Omron
Corporation, “Capacitive Pressure Sensor Technology
and Applications for Semiconductor Manufacturing
Equipment”.
[10] Satu Kärki and Jukka Lekkala Tampere University of
Technology, Institute of Measurement and Information
Technology, Tampere, “Pressure Mapping System For
Physiological Measurements”, XVIII IMEKO
WORLD CONGRESS, Metrology for a Sustainable
Development, September, 17 – 22, 2006, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil.
[11] Kurt E. Petersen, member, IEEE, “Silicon as a
Mechanical Material”, Proceedings of the IEEE, VOL.
70, NO. 5, MAY 1982.
[12] College Physics, Volume 1, By Nicholas Giordano.

Conclusion
This paper demonstrates the deflection, stress, and Eigen
frequency analysis of a capacitive pressure sensor. The design
parameters for the capacitive pressure sensor are optimized so
as to give a capacitance of about 2.12e-14 farad.

References

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