LOW COST THICK-FILM SENSOR WITH HIGH SENSITIVITY AND LOW CREEP FOR DYNAMIC FORCE MEASUREMENTS

D. Crescini, P. Crescini

Abstract

The application of load cells in industry generally requires good basic materials and accurate performance in a wide range of environments. Difference exist in manufacturing technologies, intended application, performance and cost; however, frequency response and creep can be a common source of errors in standard strain gauge cells. In this paper we present a small structure based on piezoresistive effect, implemented in Thick-Film Technology (TFT) on 96% alumina substrate, working as load cell with high resonance frequency and low creep effects. The analytic model has been verified by using simulation of the finite element method (FEM), resulting in satisfactory agreement. Based on a figure of merit (the product of the sensitivity and the square of the resonant frequency), optimised design rules are obtained for the sensors of various measure-ranges from 1 N to 10 N.

Keywords

thick-film technology, figure-of-merit, piezoresistors, load cell

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IMEKO-WC-2012-TC3-O7.pdf

DOI

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IMEKO TC

TC3 - Measurement of Force, Mass, Torque, and Gravity

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