What is piezoelectric pressure sensor?

Piezoelectric presssure sensors classification

Piezoelectric presssure sensors can further be classified according to whether the crystal's electrostatic charge, its resistivity, or its resonant frequency electrostatic charge is measured. Depending on which phenomenon is used, the crystal sensor can be called electrostatic, piezoresistive, or resonant. 

crystal sensor working principle：

When pressure, force or acceleration is applied to a quartz crystal, a charge is developed across the crystal that is proportional to the force applied (Figure 3-8). The fundamental difference between these crystal sensors and static-force devices such as strain gauges is that the electric signal generated by the crystal decays rapidly. This characteristic makes these sensors unsuitable for the measurement of static forces or pressures but useful for dynamic measurements. 

When pressure is applied to a crystal, it is elastically deformed. This deformation results in a flow of electric charge (which lasts for a period of a few seconds). The resulting electric signal can be measured as an indication of the pressure which was applied to the crystal. These sensors cannot detect static pressures, but are used to measure rapidly changing pressures resulting from blasts, explosions, pressure pulsations (in rocket motors, engines, compressors) or other sources of shock or vibration. Some of these rugged sensors can detect pressure events having "rise times" on the order of a millionth of a second, and are described in more detail later in this chapter. Analog pressure transmitter with djustable zero and span. The output of such dynamic pressure sensors is often expressed in "relative" pressure units (such as psir instead of psig), thereby referencing the measurement to the initial condition of the crystal. The maximum range of such sensors is 5,000 or 10,000 psir. The desirable features of piezoelectric sensors include their rugged construction, small size, high speed, and self-generated signal. On the other hand, they are sensitive to temperature variations and require special cabling and amplification. 

They also require special care during installation: One such consideration is that their mounting torque should duplicate the torque at which they were calibrated (usually 30 in.-lbs). Another factor that can harm their performance by slowing response speed is the depth of the empty cavity below the cavity. The larger the cavity, the slower the response. Therefore, it is recommended that the depth of the cavity be minimized and not be deeper than the diameter of the probe (usually about 0.25-in.). 

Piezoresistive pressure sensors：

Piezoresistive pressure sensors operate based on the resistivity dependence of silicon under stress. Similar to a strain gauge, a piezoresistive sensor consists of a diaphragm onto which four pairs of silicon resistors are bonded. Unlike the construction of a strain gauge sensor, here the diaphragm itself is made of silicon and the resistors are diffused into the silicon during the manufacturing process. The diaphragm is completed by bonding the diaphragm to an unprocessed wafer of silicon. 

If the sensor is to be used to measure absolute pressure, the bonding process is performed under vacuum. If the pressure sensor is to be referenced, the cavity behind the diaphragm is ported either to the atmosphere or to the reference pressure source. When used in a process sensor, the silicon diaphragm is shielded from direct contact with the process materials by a fluid-filled protective diaphragm made of stainless steel or some other alloy that meets the corrosion requirements of the service. 

Piezoresistive pressure sensors are sensitive to changes in temperature and must be temperature compensated. Piezoresistive pressure sensors can be used from about 3 psi to a maximum of about 14,000 psi (21 KPa to 100 MPa). 

Electrostatic pressure transducers：

Electrostatic pressure transducers are small and rugged. Force to the crystal can be applied longitudinally or in the transverse direction, and in either case will cause a high voltage output proportional to the force applied. The crystal's self-generated voltage signal is useful where providing power to the sensor is impractical or impossible. These piezoelectric sensors also provide high speed responses (30 kHz with peaks to 100 kHz), which makes them ideal for measuring transient phenomena. Figure 3-9 illustrates an acceleration-compensated pressure sensor. In this design, the compensation is provided by the addition of a seismic mass and a separate "compensation crystal" of reverse polarity. These components are scaled to exactly cancel the inertial effect of the masses (the end piece and diaphragm) which act upon the pressure-sensing crystal stack when accelerated. 

Tourmaline, a naturally occurring semi-precious form of quartz, has sub-microsecond responsiveness and is useful in the measurement of very rapid transients. By selecting the crystal properly, the designer can ensure both good linearity and reduced temperature sensitivity. 

Although piezoelectric transducers are not capable of measuring static pressures, they are widely used to evaluate dynamic pressure phenomena associated with explosions, pulsations, or dynamic pressure conditions in motors, rocket engines, compressors, and other pressurized devices that experience rapid changes. They can detect pressures between 0.1 and 10,000 psig (0.7 KPa to 70 MPa). Typical accuracy is 1% full scale with an additional 1% full scale per 1000¡ temperature effect. 

Resonant piezoelectric pressure sensors

Resonant piezoelectric pressure sensors measure the variation in resonant frequency of quartz crystals under an applied force. The sensor can consist of a suspended beam that oscillates while isolated from all other forces. The beam is maintained in oscillation at its resonant frequency. Changes in the applied force result in resonant frequency changes. The relationship between the applied pressure P and the oscillation frequency is: equation for pressure calculation

where TO is the period of oscillation when the applied pressure is zero, T is the period of oscillation when the applied pressure is P, and A and B are calibration constants for the transducer. 

These transducers can be used for absolute pressure measurements with spans from 0-15 psia to 0-900 psia (0-100 kPa to 0-6 MPa) or for differential pressure measurements with spans from 0-6 psid to 0-40 psid (0-40 kPa to 0-275 kPa).