LOW-COST THIN-FILM PRESSURE TRANSDUCER

A flat diaphragm type pressure transducer with an anodised insulating layer and thin Pt-film as a strain ga uge has been designed and made. The paper gives details of the diaphragm and The information on the an odisation process employed. Sputtering was used for the deposition of the Pt-film strain gauge sensors. Observations on the behaviour of the transducer are presented which include, stability of the gauge resist ance with pressure and time, linearity and hysteresis, and the insulat ion resistance of the anodised base layer. It was concluded that altho ugh this type of transducer can be adopted for measuring pressure in t he lower range up to 10 bars, creep effect was at a noticeable level i n the output. However, the transducer is attractive for its low-cost a nd weight. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.