A MEMS Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Power Sensor with a Fe-Co-B Core Planar Inductor and a Vibrating Diaphragm Capacitor
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada
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Academic Editor: Chi Zhang
Sensors 2021, 21(11), 3858; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21113858
Received: 21 May 2021
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Revised: 1 June 2021
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Accepted: 1 June 2021
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Published: 3 June 2021
(This article belongs to the Section Intelligent Sensors)
The design of a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) ultra-wideband (UWB) RMS power sensor is presented. The sensor incorporates a microfabricated Fe-Co-B core planar inductor and a microfabricated vibrating diaphragm variable capacitor on adhesively bonded glass wafers in a footprint area of 970 × 970 µm2 to operate in the 3.1–10.6 GHz UWB frequency range. When exposed to a far-field UWB electromagnetic radiation, the planar inductor acts as a loop antenna to generate a frequency-independent voltage across the MEMS capacitor. The voltage generates a coulombic attraction force between the diaphragm and backplate that deforms the diaphragm to change the capacitance. The frequency-independent capacitance change is sensed using a transimpedance amplifier to generate an output voltage. The sensor exhibits a linear capacitance change induced voltage relation and a calculated sensitivity of 4.5 aF/0.8 µA/m. The sensor can be used as a standalone UWB power sensor or as a 2D array for microwave-based biomedical diagnostic imaging applications or for non-contact material characterization. The device can easily be tailored for power sensing in other application areas such as, 5G, WiFi, and Internet-of-Things (IoT). The foreseen fabrication technique can rely on standard readily available microfabrication techniques.
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Keywords:
MEMS; UWB; power sensor; planar inductor; vibrating diaphragm capacitor
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MDPI and ACS Style
Vejella, S.; Chowdhury, S. A MEMS Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Power Sensor with a Fe-Co-B Core Planar Inductor and a Vibrating Diaphragm Capacitor. Sensors 2021, 21, 3858. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21113858
AMA Style
Vejella S, Chowdhury S. A MEMS Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Power Sensor with a Fe-Co-B Core Planar Inductor and a Vibrating Diaphragm Capacitor. Sensors. 2021; 21(11):3858. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21113858
Chicago/Turabian StyleVejella, Sujitha, and Sazzadur Chowdhury. 2021. "A MEMS Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Power Sensor with a Fe-Co-B Core Planar Inductor and a Vibrating Diaphragm Capacitor" Sensors 21, no. 11: 3858. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21113858
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