STTR Phase I: High Temperature Pressure Sensor for Process Monitoring

The broader impact/commercial impacts of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is in a range of fields, which includes electric vehicle technology, advancing geolocation capability, and improving efficiency of industrial processes. A high temperature pressure sensor will be developed. The sensor’s material layers will be designed to optimize sensitivity, refine the device and manufacturing process to enhance performance, and develop a durable package capable of withstanding high temperatures. Once fabricated, the sensors will undergo rigorous testing under varying pressure and temperature conditions to ensure reliability and effectiveness. This design can directly replace current silicon-based sensors. These new sensors will be packaged and tested at industrial partner’s high-temperature facility. The project activities will create extensive training opportunities for PhD students and internship opportunities for students visiting from the university partner and other nearby colleges/ universities. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project focuses on the unmet market need for reliable pressure sensors operating at high temperatures, where traditional silicon (Si) piezoresistive pressure sensors are unsuitable. To meet this market need, a circular membrane-based pressure sensor made of wide bandgap semiconductors, will be developed, which can operate at high temperature due to their wide bandgap suppressing thermal carrier generation. This will enable the realization of a highly sensitive deflection transducer that can be integrated at the periphery of the pressure sensor element. The intellectual merit of the proposed project is in the development of novel wide bandgap based high temperature pressure sensors with much improved device performance compared to the state-of-the-art Si based piezoresistive sensors, due to several unique design aspects that include: (i) usage of wide bandgap and inert semiconductors that are capable of operating at high temperature and harsh environment, (ii) usage of a novel sensor element with depleted carrier density to maximize deflection sensitivity, (iii) usage of optimized surface passivation layer to reduce charge instability and (iv) usage of bridge network of sensors to reduce instability due to temperature changes or vibrational noise in the sensor output. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.