Abstract:
To address the demand for real-time vacuum monitoring within micro-cavities of devices such as large-format uncooled focal plane arrays, micro-gyroscopes, and accelerometers, this paper proposes a wide-range, high-sensitivity Pirani vacuum sensor featuring a dual-sensitive-element differential fusion structure. The device can be fabricated using a standard CMOS-compatible process. The differential configuration of the dual sensitive elements enhances sensitivity, while the on-chip integration of multiple sensitive units effectively extends the measurement range, offering advantages of low cost and good consistency. Experimental results show that the proposed sensor achieves a full-scale output of 125.16 mV, a hysteresis of 0.887%, and an average system noise of 27.6 μV. Compared with a single-sensitive-element structure, the proposed dual-element differential fusion structure achieves higher output sensitivity over a wide pressure range, significantly extends the linear measurement range, lowers the measurement limit in the low-pressure region, and exhibits favorable noise and hysteresis characteristics.