• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2008

In this paper, we fabricated pressure difference type gas flow sensor using only dry etching technology by ICP-RIE(inductive coupled plasma reactive ion etching). The sensor's structure consists of a common shear stress type piezoresistive pressure sensor with an orifice fabricated in the middle of the sensor diaphragm. Generally, structure like diaphragm is fabricated by wet etching technology using TMAH, but we fabricated diaphragm by only dry etching using ICP-RIE. To equalize the thickness of diaphragm we applied insulator($SiO_2$) layer of SOI(Si/$SiO_2$/Si-sub) wafer as delay layer of dry etching. Size of fabricated diaphragm is $1000{\times}1000{\times}7\;{\mu}m^3$ and overall chip $3000{\times}3000{\times}7\;{\mu}m^3$. We measured the variation of output voltage toward the change of gas pressure to analyze characteristics of the fabricated sensor. Sensitivity of fabricated sensor was relatively high as about 1.5mV/V kPa at 1kPa full-scale. Nonlinearity was below 0.5%F.S. Over-pressure range of the fabricated sensor is 100kPa or more.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.07b
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• pp.888-891
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• 2003

This paper describes on the fabrication and characteristics of micro ceramic thin-film type pressure sensors based on Ta-N strain-gauges for high-temperature applications. The Ta-N thin-film strain-gauges are deposited onto thermally oxidized Si diaphragms by RF sputtering in an argon-nitrogen atmosphere($N_2$ gas ratio: 8 %, annealing condition: $900^{\circ}C$, 1 hr.), Patterned on a wheatstone bridge configuration, and use as pressure sensing elements with a high stability and a high gauge factor. The sensitivity is $1.097{\sim}1.21mV/V.kgf/cm^2$ in the temperature range of $25{\sim}200^{\circ}C$ and the maximum non-linearity is 0.43 %FS. The fabricated pressure sensor presents a lower TCR, non-linearity than existing Si piezoresistive pressure sensors. The fabricated micro ceramic thin-film type pressure sensor is expected to be usefully applied as pressure and load sensors that is operable under high-temperature environments.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.5_6
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• pp.641-659
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• 2010

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) gradually becomes a technique for ensuring the health and safety of civil infrastructures and is also an important approach for the research of the damage accumulation and disaster evolving characteristics of civil infrastructures. It is attracting prodigious research interests and the active development interests of scientists and engineers because a great number of civil infrastructures are planned and built every year in mainland China. In a SHM system the sheer number of accompanying wires, fiber optic cables, and other physical transmission medium is usually prohibitive, particularly for such structures as offshore platforms and long-span structures. Fortunately, with recent advances in technologies in sensing, wireless communication, and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), wireless sensor technique has been developing rapidly and is being used gradually in the SHM of civil engineering structures. In this paper, some recent advances in the research, development, and implementation of wireless sensors for the SHM of civil infrastructures in mainland China, especially in Dalian University of Technology (DUT) and Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), are introduced. Firstly, a kind of wireless digital acceleration sensors for structural global monitoring is designed and validated in an offshore structure model. Secondly, wireless inclination sensor systems based on Frequency-hopping techniques are developed and applied successfully to swing monitoring of large-scale hook structures. Thirdly, wireless acquisition systems integrating with different sensing materials, such as Polyvinylidene Fluoride(PVDF), strain gauge, piezoresistive stress/strain sensors fabricated by using the nickel powder-filled cement-based composite, are proposed for structural local monitoring, and validating the characteristics of the above materials. Finally, solutions to the key problem of finite energy for wireless sensors networks are discussed, with future works also being introduced, for example, the wireless sensor networks powered by corrosion signal for corrosion monitoring and rapid diagnosis for large structures.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.38-44
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• 1999

In this paper, we have constructed a self-diagnostic circuit which could detect erroneous signals in most cases that a eight-beam piezoresistive accelerometer were destroyed more than its one beam. To confirm the function of the circuit, PSPICE simulation was carried out. An IC chip was fabricated with a layout of KA 324 amplifier using a bipolar standard processing. After a package of the chip was sealed using a plastic package with 24 pins, the self-diagnostic characteristics were investigated. Then, the measured self-diagnostic characteristics of the circuit were compared with the PSPICE simulated result.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.637-640
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• 2005

In this paper, we investigate the characteristics of a piezoresistive AFM cantilever in the range of $0\~30{\mu}N$ by using nano force calibrator (NFC), which consists of a high precision balance with resolution of 1 nN and 1-D fine positioning stage. Brief modeling of the cantilever is presented and then, the calibration results are shown. Tests revealed a linear relationship between the probing force and sensor output (resistance change), and the force vs. deflection. From this relationship, the force constant of the cantilever was calculated to 3.45 N/m with a standard deviation of 0.01 N/m. It shows that there is a big difference between measured and nominal spring constant of 1 N/m provided by the manufacturer s specifications.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.246-252
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• 2002

Two kinds of PZT cantilevers integrated with a piezoresistor have been newly designed, fabricated, and characterized for high speed AFM. In first cantilever, a piezoresistor is used to sense atomic force acting on tip, while in second cantilever, a piezoresistor is integrated to calibrate hysteresis and creep phenomena of the PZT cantilever. The fabricated PZT cantilevers provide high tip displacement of $0.55\mu\textrm{m}/V$ and high resonant frequency of 73 KHz. A new cantilever structure has been designed to prevent electrical coupling between sensor and PZT actuator and the proposed cantilever shows 5 times lower coupling voltage than that of the previous cantilever. The fabricated PZT cantilever shows a crisp scanned image at 1mm/sec, while the conventional piezo-tube scanner shows blurred image even at $180\mu\textrm{m}/sec$. The non-linear properties of the PZT actuator are also well calibrated using the piezoresistive sensor for calibration.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.97-102
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• 2020

This paper presents the basic research for the design and fabrication of a 3D-printed load cell made of NCPC (nano-carbon piezo-resistive composite). We designed a structure that can resonate at a low frequency range of about 5-6 Hz with ANSYS using sensitivity analysis and a response surface method. The design was verified by fabricating the device with a low-quality commercial 3D printer and ABS filament. We conducted a feasibility test for a commercial sensor using 1000 cyclic load tests at 0.3 Hz in a material testing system. A manufacturing process for the 3D printer filament based on the NCPC was also developed using the nano-composite process.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.1049-1050
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• 2008

It is difficult to measure the pulse wave in a short time because radial artery position and located depth are different depending on the person. In this paper, the pulse wave measurement system was developed using 3 channel piezoresistive sensor array to detect the most significant pulse wave. Augmentation Index(AI) and Heart Rate(HR) analysis are also available for predicting cardiovascular risks. The developed system is small and easy to use. And it is promising to be used as home healthcare device.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.237-242
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• 2013

This paper proposes a thermal peripheral blood flowmeter integrated with a force sensor that is capable of contact force compensation. We fabricate this blood flowmeter using a nickel RTD (resistance temperature detector) and piezoresistive force sensor by using microfabrication technology. In an experiment, we obtained a decreasing trend for the blood flow under an increasing contact force with a linear tendency of 31.7%/N. We then performed a compensation process based on this obtained trend. As a result, the maximum variance in the blood flow at 1-3N was 9.8%. Thus we achieved consistent blood flow measurement independent of the contact force. In this work, we verified that the thermal blood flowmeter integrated with a force sensor has the ability to accurately measure the blood flow independent of the contact force.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.1381-1384
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• 2005

In these days, the piezoresistive material has been applied to various sensors in order to measure the change of physical quantities. But the relationship between the sensitivity of a sensor and the position and size of piezoresistor has rarely been studied. Therefore, this paper was focused on the distribution of the resistance change ratio on the diaphragm and bridge surface where piezoresistor would be formed, and proposed the proper size and position of piezoresistor with which the sensitivity of sensor was increased. As the width of mass and boss was increased, the distance between piezoresistors was closed and the maximum value of resistance change ratio was decreased by the increase of the structure stiffness. And according to the increment of seismic mass size, the value of resistance change ratio is decreased by increase of the structure stiffness. Y directional piezoresistor is formed in the position of $100\mu{m}\;apart\;from\;cantilever\;edge\;and\;length\;of\;that\;is\;800\mu{m}$.