Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 5.

Capacitive Pressure Sensor

Introduction
Capacitive pressure sensors are gaining market share over their piezoresistive
counterparts since they consume less power, are usually less temperature sensitive and
have a lower fundamental noise floor. This model performs an analysis of a hypothetical
sensor design discussed in Ref. 1, using the electromechanics interface. The effect of a
rather poor choice of packaging solution on the performance of the sensor is also
considered. The results emphasize the importance of considering packaging in the
MEMS design process.

Model Definition
The model geometry is shown in Figure 1. The pressure sensor is part of a silicon die
that has been bonded to a metal plate at 70 C. Since the geometry is symmetric, only
a single quadrant of the geometry needs to be included in the model, and it is possible
to use symmetry boundary condition.

Figure 1: The model geometry. Left: The symmetric device geometry, with one quadrant
highlighted in blue, showing the symmetry planes. Right: In COMSOL only the highlighted
quadrant is modeled, and the symmetry boundary condition is used on the cross section
walls.
A detailed 2D section through the functional part of the device is shown in Figure 2.
A thin membrane is held at a fixed potential of 1 V. The membrane is separated from
a ground plane chamber sealed under high vacuum. The sides of the chamber are
insulating to prevent a connection between the membrane and the ground plane (for
simplicity the insulating layer is not modeled explicitly in the COMSOL modelthis
approximation has little effect on the results of the study.).

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Membrane biased
with IV potential

Sealed
chamber

Grounded part
of the die

Insulator

Figure 2: Cross section through the device showing the capacitor. The vertical axis has been
expanded to emphasize the gap.
When the pressure outside of the sealed chamber changes, the pressure difference
causes the membrane to deflect. The thickness of the air gap now varies across the
membrane and its capacitance to ground therefore changes. This capacitance is then
monitored by an interfacing circuit, such as the switched capacitor amplifier circuit
discussed in Ref. 1.
Thermal stresses are introduced into the structure as a result of the thermal
conductivity mismatch between the silicon die and the metal plate, and the elevated
temperature used for the bonding process. These stresses change the deformation of
the diaphragm in response to applied pressures and alter the response of the sensor. In
addition, because the stresses are temperature dependent, they introduce an undesired
temperature dependence to the device output.
Initially the sensor is analyzed in the case where there are no packaging stresses. Then
the effect of the packaging stress is considered. First, the device response at fixed
temperature is evaluated with the additional packaging stress. Finally the temperature
dependence of the device response at a fixed applied pressure is assessed.

Results and Discussion

Figure 3 shows the deformation of the membrane when a pressure of 25 kPa is applied
to it, in the absence of packaging stresses. Figure 4 shows the potential on a plane
located between the plates. The deformation of the membrane is of the form expected,
and results in a nonuniform potential between the plates.

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Figure 3: Quadrant deflection when the pressure difference across the membrane is
25 kPa. As expected the deflection is greatest in the center of the membrane

Figure 4: Electric potential in the air chamber, plotted on a slice between the two plates of
the capacitor. The potential has become nonuniform as a result of the pressure-induced
deformation of the diaphragm.

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Figure 5: Maximum and mean displacement of the membrane as a function of the applied
pressure.

Figure 6: Capacitance of the membrane as a function of applied pressure, both with and
without the packaging stresses. The linearized zero pressure capacitance variation, taken
from Ref. 1, is also shown for comparison.

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Figure 5 shows the mean and maximum displacements of the membrane as a function
of applied pressure. At an applied pressure of 10 kPa the diaphragm displacement in
the center is 0.89 m. The average displacement of the diaphragm is 0.27 m. These
values are in good agreement with the approximate model given in Ref. 1 (maximum
displacement 0.93 m, average displacement 0.27 m).
Figure 6 shows that the capacitance of the device increases nonlinearly with applied
pressure. The gradient of the curve plotted is a measure of the sensitivity of the sensor.
At zero applied pressure the sensitivity of the model (1/4 of the whole sensor) is
7.310-6 pF/Pa (compare to the value of 6.510-6 pF/Pa given in Ref. 1). The device
sensitivity is therefore 2910-6 pF/Pa (compare to 2610-6 pF/Pa. calculated in Ref.
1). Assuming the interfacing electronics use the switched capacitor amplifier circuit
presented in Ref. 1 this corresponds to a sensor transfer function of 29 V/Pa
(compared to 26 V/Pa from Ref. 1). Using a smaller pressure step to produce the
plot improves the agreement leading to a response at the origin of 6.710-6 pF/Pa
(2710-6 pF/Pa for the device, corresponding to 27 V/Pa). The response is
nonlinear, so that at 20 kPa the model output is 14.310-6 pF/Pa (device output
57 pF/Pa or 57 V/Pa)). This nonlinear response adds to the complexity of designing
the interfacing circuitry. Note that, for comparison with these figures, the circuitry
proposed in Ref. 1, has a noise floor corresponding to a capacitance of 1710-6 pF, or
0.6 Pa at zero applied pressure (assuming an average of 100 consecutive
measurements). This resolution is approximately four times the fundamental sensitivity
of the device imposed by mechanical noise from thermal fluctuations.
Next the response of the device is considered when packaging stresses are present in
the model. For this part of the discussion it is assumed that the device is operated at
20C and that the system was stress and displacement free at the bonding temperature
(70C). Figure 7 shows the displacement of the structure at the room temperature
operating point, with an applied pressure of 25 kPa. The membrane displacement at
its center is shown in Figure 5. The complex interaction between the thermal stresses
and the stresses introduced as a result of the applied pressure has resulted in both an
initial offset displacement and an increased dependence of the displacement on the
pressure.

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Figure 7: The displacement of the structure due to an applied pressure of 25 kPa when
packaging stresses are also included in the model. Displacements are shown at the
operating temperature of 20 C, and are assumed to be zero at the die bonding
temperature of 70 C.

Figure 8: Temperature dependence of the capacitance of the packaged device. The

capacitance varies with temperature as a result of temperature induced changes in the
packaging stress within the diaphragm.

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The response of the device with the additional packaging stresses is shown in Figure 6.
At zero applied pressure the sensitivity of the COMSOL model has increased from
6.510-6 pF/Pa to 1010-6 pF/Pa (4010-6 pF/Pa for the entire device). The effect
is even more pronounced at a pressure of 20 kPa, where the model that includes
thermal stresses shows a pressure sensitivity of 2510-6 pF/Pa (100 pF/Pa for the
entire device) compared to the unstressed value of 14.310-6 pF/Pa. The sensitivity
of the device to pressure has almost doubled. While this effect might seem desirable,
an unwanted dependence on temperature has been introduced into the device
response. Since the thermal stresses are temperature dependent, the response of the
device is also now temperature dependent. The final study in the model assesses this
issue.
Figure 8 shows the capacitance of the device, with an applied pressure of 20 kPa, as the
temperature is varied. The temperature sensitivity of the model response is given by the
gradient of this curve, approximately 3.510-3 pF/K (1410-3 pF/K for the whole
device). With a pressure sensitivity of 2510-6 pF/Pa at 20 kPa (for a single quadrant
of the device) this corresponds to an equivalent pressure of 140 Pa/K in the sensor
output. Compared to the unstressed performance of the sensor (0.6 Pa with the circuit
proposed in Ref. 1) this number is very large. The model shows the importance of
carefully considering the packaging in the MEMS design process.

Reference
1. V. Kaajakari, Practical MEMS, Small Gear Publishing, Las Vegas, 2009.

Application Library path: MEMS_Module/Sensors/

capacitive_pressure_sensor

Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.
NEW

1 In the New window, click Model Wizard.

MODEL WIZARD

1 In the Model Wizard window, click 3D.

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2 In the Select physics tree, select Structural Mechanics>Electromechanics (emi).

3 Click Add.
4 Click Study.
5 In the Select study tree, select Preset Studies>Stationary.
6 Click Done.
GEOMETRY 1

The geometry is imported from an external file. Since the structure is symmetric, only
a quarter of the physical geometry is required.

Import 1 (imp1)
1 On the Home toolbar, click Import.
2 In the Settings window for Import, locate the Import section.
3 Click Browse.
4 Browse to the applications Application Library folder and double-click the file
capacitive_pressure_sensor.mphbin.

5 Click the Build All Objects button.

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6 Click the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics toolbar.

Add parameters to the model. These will be used subsequently to perform

parametric studies.
GLOBAL DEFINITIONS

Parameters
1 On the Home toolbar, click Parameters.
2 In the Settings window for Parameters, locate the Parameters section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:
Name

Expression

Value

Description

p0

20[kPa]

2E4 Pa

Pressure

T0

20[degC]

293.2 K

Operating temperature

Tref

70[degC]

343.2 K

Die Bonding temperature

SI units or their multiples, such as Pa and kPa, as well as non-SI units, such as
degrees Celsius can be entered in the COMSOL Desktop enclosed by square

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brackets.See the section on Using Units in the chapter on Building a COMSOL model in
the COMSOL Multiphysics User's Guide for detailed lists of supported units.
Next, add a component coupling operator to compute a derived global quantity
from the model. These operators can be convenient for results processing and
COMSOL's solvers can also use them during the solution process, for example to
include integral quantities in the equation system. Here, an average operator is
added so that the average displacement of the diaphragm can be computed and a
point integration is used to make available the displacement of the center point of
the diaphragm.
DEFINITIONS

Average 1 (aveop1)
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Component Couplings and choose Average.
2 In the Settings window for Average, locate the Source Selection section.
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 Select Boundary 12 only.

Integration 1 (intop1)
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Component Couplings and choose Integration.
2 In the Settings window for Integration, locate the Source Selection section.
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Point.
4 Select Point 4 only.

Next, define selections to simplify the set up of materials and physics.

Box 1
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Box.
2 In the Settings window for Box, locate the Geometric Entity Level section.
3 From the Level list, choose Boundary.
4 Locate the Box Limits section. In the x maximum text field, type 1e-6.
5 Locate the Output Entities section. From the Include entity if list, choose Entity inside
box.
6 Right-click Component 1 (comp1)>Definitions>Box 1 and choose Rename.
7 In the Rename Box dialog box, type YZ Symmetry Plane in the New label text field.
8 Click OK.

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Box 2
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Box.
2 In the Settings window for Box, locate the Geometric Entity Level section.
3 From the Level list, choose Boundary.
4 Locate the Box Limits section. In the y maximum text field, type 1e-6.
5 Locate the Output Entities section. From the Include entity if list, choose Entity inside
box.
6 Right-click Component 1 (comp1)>Definitions>Box 2 and choose Rename.
7 In the Rename Box dialog box, type XZ Symmetry Plane in the New label text field.
8 Click OK.

Box 3
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Box.
2 In the Settings window for Box, locate the Box Limits section.
3 In the z maximum text field, type -100e-6.
4 Locate the Output Entities section. From the Include entity if list, choose Entity inside
box.
5 Right-click Component 1 (comp1)>Definitions>Box 3 and choose Rename.
6 In the Rename Box dialog box, type Steel Base in the New label text field.
7 Click OK.

Explicit 1
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 Select Domain 3 only.
3 Right-click Component 1 (comp1)>Definitions>Explicit 1 and choose Rename.
4 In the Rename Explicit dialog box, type Cavity in the New label text field.
5 Click OK.

Explicit 2
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 In the Settings window for Explicit, locate the Input Entities section.
3 Select the All domains check box.
4 Right-click Component 1 (comp1)>Definitions>Explicit 2 and choose Rename.
5 In the Rename Explicit dialog box, type All domains in the New label text field.
6 Click OK.

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Difference 1
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Difference.
2 In the Settings window for Difference, locate the Input Entities section.
3 Under Selections to add, click Add.
4 In the Add dialog box, select All domains in the Selections to add list.
5 Click OK.
6 In the Settings window for Difference, locate the Input Entities section.
7 Under Selections to subtract, click Add.
8 In the Add dialog box, select Cavity in the Selections to subtract list.
9 Click OK.
10 Right-click Component 1 (comp1)>Definitions>Difference 1 and choose Rename.
11 In the Rename Difference dialog box, type Linear Elastic in the New label text

field.
12 Click OK.

Next, add the physics settings to the model. These include the pressure forces acting
on the sensor, the applied sense voltage, and other appropriate boundary
conditions.
ELECTROMECHANICS (EMI)

In the Electromechanics interface, use a Linear Elastic Material node to solve the
equations of structural mechanics only. The electric field does not penetrate these
regions.

Linear Elastic Material 1

1 On the Physics toolbar, click Domains and choose Linear Elastic Material.
2 In the Settings window for Linear Elastic Material, locate the Domain Selection

section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Linear Elastic.

Apply the structural symmetry boundary condition on the symmetry boundaries.

Symmetry 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Symmetry.
2 In the Settings window for Symmetry, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose XZ Symmetry Plane.

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Symmetry 2
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Symmetry.
2 In the Settings window for Symmetry, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose YZ Symmetry Plane.

Note that the electrical symmetry boundary condition (the Zero Charge feature) is
applied by default.
The motion of the structure is constrained in most directions by the structural
symmetry boundary conditions. However, the whole device can still slide up and
down the z-axis. Apply a point constraint to prevent this.

Prescribed Displacement 2
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Prescribed Displacement.
2 Select Point 44 only.
3 In the Settings window for Prescribed Displacement, locate the Prescribed
Displacement section.
4 Select the Prescribed in z direction check box.

Apply a boundary load to represent the pressure acting on the surface of the
diaphragm.

Boundary Load 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Boundary Load.
2 Select Boundary 13 only.
3 In the Settings window for Boundary Load, locate the Force section.
4 From the Load type list, choose Pressure.
5 In the p text field, type p0.

Moving mesh boundary conditions must be applied on boundaries where the air
domain deforms and where the default Electromechanical Interface boundary
condition does not apply. The Electromechanical Interface boundary condition
automatically obtains its selection from the interface between structural and
deforming air domains. It applies the appropriate electrical forces to the structural
layer and constrains the deformation of the air domain to be equal to that of the
structure.

Prescribed Mesh Displacement 1

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Electromechanics (emi)

click Prescribed Mesh Displacement 1.

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2 In the Settings window for Prescribed Mesh Displacement, locate the Prescribed
Mesh Displacement section.
3 Clear the Prescribed z displacement check box.

Doing this allows the membrane (and the mesh) to move in the z-direction.
Add terminal and ground features to the model to apply boundary conditions for
the electrostatics parts of the problem.

Terminal 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Terminal.
2 Select Boundary 12 only.
3 In the Settings window for Terminal, locate the Terminal section.
4 From the Terminal type list, choose Voltage.

The default value of 1 V is fine in this instance.

Ground 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Ground.
2 Select Boundary 9 only.

The pressure sensor consists of a silicon die with an enclosed cavity held at a low
pressure. The pressure sensor is bonded onto a cylindrical steel plate during the
packaging process. COMSOL includes a Material Library with many predefined
material properties. This model uses a predefined material for the steel plate, but sets
up the silicon as a user-defined material with isotropic material parameters to allow
comparison with Ref. 1. The cavity also needs material properties (to define the
relative permittivity) and a user defined material is used to set the relative
permittivity to 1 in this region.
MATERIALS

Material 1 (mat1)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Materials and

choose Blank Material.

2 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Material Contents section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

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Property

Name

Value

Unit

Property group

Relative permittivity

epsilonr

11.7

Basic

Young's modulus

170[GPa]

Pa

Basic

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Property

Name

Value

Unit

Property group

Poisson's ratio

nu

0.06

Basic

Density

rho

2330

kg/m

Basic

4 Right-click Component 1 (comp1)>Materials>Material 1 (mat1) and choose Rename.

5 In the Rename Material dialog box, type Silicon in the New label text field.
6 Click OK.

By default, the silicon is in all domains. Some of these selections will be overridden
as other materials are added.

Material 2 (mat2)
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Materials and choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Cavity.
4 Locate the Material Contents section. In the table, enter the following settings:
Property

Name

Value

Unit

Property group

Relative permittivity

epsilonr

Basic

5 Click to expand the Material properties section. Locate the Material Properties

section. From the Material type list, choose Non-solid.

6 Right-click Component 1 (comp1)>Materials>Material 2 (mat2) and choose Rename.
7 In the Rename Material dialog box, type Vacuum in the New label text field.
8 Click OK.
ADD MATERIAL

1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Material to open the Add Material window.
2 Go to the Add Material window.
3 In the tree, select Built-In>Steel AISI 4340.
4 Click Add to Component in the window toolbar.
5 On the Home toolbar, click Add Material to close the Add Material window.
MATERIALS

Steel AISI 4340 (mat3)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Materials click Steel AISI
4340 (mat3).

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2 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Steel Base.

Next set up a structured mesh to solve the problem on.

MESH 1

Size
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Mesh 1 and

choose Edit Physics-Induced Sequence.

Disable the default free tetrahedral mesh.

Free Tetrahedral 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Mesh 1 right-click Free
Tetrahedral 1 and choose Disable.

Set a maximum element size on the sensor diaphragm.

Size 1
1 Right-click Mesh 1 and choose Size.
2 In the Settings window for Size, locate the Element Size section.
3 Click the Custom button.
4 Locate the Element Size Parameters section. Select the Maximum element size check

box.
5 In the associated text field, type 50e-6.
6 Locate the Geometric Entity Selection section. From the Geometric entity level list,

choose Boundary.
7 Select Boundary 3 only.

Create a mapped mesh on the lower surface of the device.

Mapped 1
1 Right-click Mesh 1 and choose More Operations>Mapped.
2 Select Boundaries 3, 16, and 32 only.
3 Click the Build All button.

Sweep the surface mesh through the structure.

Swept 1
1 Right-click Mesh 1 and choose Swept.

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2 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Mesh 1 right-click Swept

1 and choose Build All.

Set up a study that sweeps over a range of applied pressures, so that the response of
the sensor can be assessed.
STUDY 1

Step 1: Stationary
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Study 1 node, then click Step 1: Stationary.
2 In the Settings window for Stationary, click to expand the Study extensions section.
3 Locate the Study Extensions section. Select the Auxiliary sweep check box.
4 Click Add.

The continuation parameter p0 (Pressure) is added by default. This is the correct

parameter to sweep over.
5 Click Range.
6 In the Range dialog box, type 0 in the Start text field.
7 In the Step text field, type 5000.

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8 In the Stop text field, type 25000.

9 Click Add.
10 On the Home toolbar, click Compute.
RESULTS

Displacement (emi)
Much of the structure is not displaced in this initial study. To facilitate results analysis,
add a selection to the solution. This will ensure that only the domains of interest are
displayed in the plots.

Data Sets
1 On the Results toolbar, click Selection.
2 In the Settings window for Selection, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Domain.
4 Select Domains 3 and 4 only.

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Displacement (emi)
1 Click the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics toolbar.

The plot now shows the displacement of the diaphragm only, which, as expected, is
maximum in the center of the sensor.
Next, plot the electric potential in an xy-orientated plane between the sensor
diaphragm and the ground plane.

Potential (emi)
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Potential (emi) node, then click Slice 1.
2 In the Settings window for Slice, locate the Plane Data section.
3 From the Plane list, choose xy-planes.
4 In the Planes text field, type 1.
5 Select the Interactive check box.
6 In the Shift text field, type -5.8E-6.

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7 On the Potential (emi) toolbar, click Plot.

Due to the deformation of the diaphragm the potential is non-uniformly distributed

in the plane.

Next, plot the deformation of the diaphragm as a function of the pressure

differential across it. Include both average and maximum displacements.

1D Plot Group 3
1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 1D Plot Group.
2 On the 1D Plot Group 3 toolbar, click Global.

Use the point integration and surface average operators defined earlier to evaluate
the displacement at the mid-point of the membrane and the average displacement.
3 In the Settings window for Global, locate the y-Axis Data section.
4 In the table, enter the following settings:

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Expression

Unit

Description

intop1(w)

um

Maximum Displacement

aveop1(w)

um

Average Displacement

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5 In the Model Builder window, click 1D Plot Group 3.

6 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, click to expand the Title section.
7 From the Title type list, choose Manual.
8 In the Title text area, type Diaphragm displacement.
9 Locate the Plot Settings section. Select the x-axis label check box.
10 In the associated text field, type Pressure (Pa).
11 Select the y-axis label check box.
12 In the associated text field, type Displacement (mu m).
13 Click to expand the Legend section. From the Position list, choose Lower left.
14 Right-click 1D Plot Group 3 and choose Rename.
15 In the Rename 1D Plot Group dialog box, type Diaphragm Displacement vs
Pressure in the New label text field.

16 Click OK.

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17 On the Diaphragm Displacement vs Pressure toolbar, click Plot.

At an applied pressure of 10 kPa the diaphragm displacement in the centre is 0.89

um. The average displacement of the diaphragm is 0.27 um. These values are in
good agreement with the approximate model given in Practical MEMS (maximum
displacement 0.93 um, average displacement 0.27 um).
Now plot the sensor capacitance as a function of the applied pressure. If the
switched capacitor amplifier described in Practical MEMS is used to produce the
output, the sensor output or transfer function is directly proportional to the change
in capacitance.

1D Plot Group 4
1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 1D Plot Group.
2 On the 1D Plot Group 4 toolbar, click Global.

Since the terminal boundary condition was used for the underside of the diaphragm,
COMSOL automatically computes its capacitance with respect to ground. The
value of the capacitance is available as a variable in results analysis.

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3 In the Settings window for Global, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner

of the y-axis data section. From the menu, choose Component

1>Electromechanics>Terminals>emi.C11 - Capacitance.
Next, compare the computed capacitance with the small-displacement, linearized
analytic expression derived in Practical MEMS.
4 Locate the y-Axis Data section. In the table, enter the following settings:
Expression

Unit

Description

emi.C11

pF

Capacitance

0.738[pF]*(1+8.87e-6[1/Pa]*p0)

pF

Linearized Analytic
Capacitance

5 In the Model Builder window, click 1D Plot Group 4.

6 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Title section.
7 From the Title type list, choose Manual.
8 In the Title text area, type Model Capacitance vs Pressure.
9 Locate the Plot Settings section. Select the x-axis label check box.
10 In the associated text field, type Pressure (Pa).
11 Select the y-axis label check box.
12 In the associated text field, type Capacitance (pF).
13 Locate the Legend section. From the Position list, choose Upper left.
14 Right-click 1D Plot Group 4 and choose Rename.
15 In the Rename 1D Plot Group dialog box, type Model Capacitance vs Pressure

in the New label text field.

16 Click OK.

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17 On the Model Capacitance vs Pressure toolbar, click Plot.

The capacitance of the sensor increases with applied pressure. The gradient of the
curve plotted gives a useful measure of the response of the device. At the origin, the
response of the model (1/4 of the whole sensor) is 7e-6 pF/Pa, compared to the
analytical response of 6.5e-6 pf/Pa. The response for the whole sensor is 29e-6 pF/
Pa compared to the analytic value of 26e-6 pF/Pa. With the measurement circuit
proposed in Practical MEMS this corresponds to a sensor transfer function of 29 uV/
Pa for the COMSOL model and 26 uV/Pa for the simple analytic model. The
response is nonlinear, so that at 20 kPa the model output is 14e-6 pf/Pa (device
output 57 pF/Pa).
Next, add thermal expansion to the model to assess the effects of packaging stresses
on the device performance.

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ELECTROMECHANICS (EMI)

Thermal Expansion 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Attributes and choose Thermal Expansion.

The model temperature should be set to the previously defined room temperature
parameter, T0.
2 In the Settings window for Thermal Expansion, locate the Model Inputs section.
3 In the T text field, type T0.

The reference temperature indicates the temperature at which the structure had no
thermal strains. In this case, set it to the previously defined parameter, Tref, which
represents the temperature at which the silicon die was bonded to the metal carrier
plate.
4 Locate the Thermal Expansion Properties section. In the Tref text field, type Tref.

The user defined properties you added previously for silicon did not include its
thermal expansivity, so this must be added.
MATERIALS

Silicon (mat1)
COMSOL shows a warning in the material properties settings to indicate a missing
property.
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Materials click Silicon
(mat1).
2 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Material Contents section.
3 In the table, add a value for the thermal expansivity of silicon to the appropriate row:
Property

Name

Value

Unit

Property group

Coefficient of thermal expansion

alpha

2.6e-6

1/K

Basic

Add a new study to compute the system response including thermal expansivity
effects.
ADD STUDY

1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Study to open the Add Study window.
2 Go to the Add Study window.
3 Find the Studies subsection. In the Select study tree, select Preset Studies>Stationary.
4 Click Add Study in the window toolbar.

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5 On the Home toolbar, click Add Study to close the Add Study window.
STUDY 2

Step 1: Stationary
1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 2 click Step 1: Stationary.
2 In the Settings window for Stationary, locate the Study Extensions section.
3 Select the Auxiliary sweep check box.
4 Click Add.

The continuation parameter p0 (Differential Pressure) is added by default. This is the

correct parameter to sweep over.
5 Click Range.
6 In the Range dialog box, type 0 in the Start text field.
7 In the Step text field, type 5000.
8 In the Stop text field, type 25000.
9 Click Add.
10 On the Home toolbar, click Compute.
RESULTS

Displacement (emi) 1
Create a mirrored dataset to visualize a cross section of the device.

Data Sets
1 On the Results toolbar, click More Data Sets and choose Mirror 3D.
2 In the Settings window for Mirror 3D, locate the Data section.
3 From the Data set list, choose Study 2/Solution 2.

Displacement (emi) 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click Displacement (emi) 1.
2 In the Settings window for 3D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
3 From the Data set list, choose Mirror 3D 1.

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4 On the Displacement (emi) 1 toolbar, click Plot.

Notice that the entire structure is now displaced at room temperature as a result of
thermal expansion.

Now look at the effect of the thermal stress on the response of the sensor.
Add an additional global node to the previously defined plot. This separate node can
point to a different data set, enabling a plot of the displacement of the thermally
stressed device alongside the unstressed plot.

Diaphragm Displacement vs Pressure

1 In the Model Builder window, under Results>Diaphragm Displacement vs Pressure

right-click Global 1 and choose Duplicate.

2 In the Settings window for Global, locate the Data section.
3 From the Data set list, choose Study 2/Solution 2.

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4 Locate the y-Axis Data section. In the table, enter the following settings:
Expression

Unit

Description

intop1(w)

um

Maximum Displacement with Package Stress

Note that the aveop1(w) expression has been removed from the table.
5 On the Diaphragm Displacement vs Pressure toolbar, click Plot.

The maximum displacement of the membrane is now non-zero at zero applied

pressure, as a result of the packaging stress. The gradient of the
displacement-pressure line has also changed.

Model Capacitance vs Pressure

Now add the thermally stressed results to the Capacitance vs Pressure plot.
1 On the Model Capacitance vs Pressure toolbar, click Global.
2 In the Settings window for Global, locate the Data section.
3 From the Data set list, choose Study 2/Solution 2.

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4 Click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of the y-axis data section. From

the menu, choose Component 1>Electromechanics>Terminals>emi.C11 - Capacitance.

5 Locate the y-Axis Data section. In the table, enter the following settings:
Expression

Unit

Description

emi.C11

pF

Capacitance with Package Stress

6 On the Model Capacitance vs Pressure toolbar, click Plot.

The packaging stress causes a significant change in the response of the device. At
zero applied pressure the sensitivity of the COMSOL model has increased to 10e-6
pF/Pa (40e-6 pF/Pa for the entire device). Compare to the unstressed value of
6.5e-6 pf/Pa (29e-6 pF/Pa for the entire device). The effect is even more
pronounced at a pressure of 20 kPa, where the model that includes thermal stresses
shows a pressure sensitivity of 25e-6 pf/Pa (100 pF/Pa for the entire device),
compared to the unstressed pressure sensitivity of 14.3e-6 pf/Pa (sensor output 57
pF/Pa).

It may be possible to calibrate the device to remove the effect of the packaging
strains. However, the addition of the thermal stresses to the system has created an
additional issue, since the response of the sensor has now become temperature

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dependent - due to the temperature sensitivity of the thermal strains. This effect is
assessed in the final study.
ADD STUDY

1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Study to open the Add Study window.
2 Go to the Add Study window.
3 Find the Studies subsection. In the Select study tree, select Preset Studies>Stationary.
4 Click Add Study in the window toolbar.
5 On the Home toolbar, click Add Study to close the Add Study window.
STUDY 3

Step 1: Stationary
1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 3 click Step 1: Stationary.
2 In the Settings window for Stationary, locate the Study Extensions section.
3 Select the Auxiliary sweep check box.

Sweep over operating temperature at constant applied pressure, to assess the

temperature sensitivity of the device.
4 Click Add.
5 In the table, enter the following settings:
Parameter name

Parameter value list

Parameter unit

T0
6 Click Range.
7 In the Range dialog box, type 290 in the Start text field.
8 In the Step text field, type 5.
9 In the Stop text field, type 300.
10 Click Add.

For this study disable the default plots, as these will be very similar to those already
generated by study 2.
11 In the Model Builder window, click Study 3.
12 In the Settings window for Study, locate the Study Settings section.
13 Clear the Generate default plots check box.

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14 On the Home toolbar, click Compute.

Add a plot to show how the sensor response varies with temperature. The response
is computed at an applied pressure set by the value of the parameter p0, defined as
20 kPa.
RESULTS

1D Plot Group 7
1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 1D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
3 From the Data set list, choose Study 3/Solution 3.
4 On the 1D Plot Group 7 toolbar, click Global.
5 In the Settings window for Global, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner

of the y-axis data section. From the menu, choose Component

1>Electromechanics>Terminals>emi.C11 - Capacitance.
6 Locate the y-Axis Data section. In the table, enter the following settings:
Expression

Unit

Description

emi.C11

pF

Capacitance

7 In the Model Builder window, click 1D Plot Group 7.

8 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Title section.
9 From the Title type list, choose Manual.
10 In the Title text area, type Model Capacitance vs Operating Temperature.
11 Locate the Plot Settings section. Select the x-axis label check box.
12 In the associated text field, type Operating Temperature (K).
13 Right-click 1D Plot Group 7 and choose Rename.
14 In the Rename 1D Plot Group dialog box, type Capacitance vs Operating
Temperature in the New label text field.

15 Click OK.

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16 On the Capacitance vs Operating Temperature toolbar, click Plot.

At a pressure of 20 kPa the temperature sensitivity of the model is given by the

gradient of this curve, approximately 3.5e-3 pF/K (14e-4 pF/K for the whole
device). Given the pressure sensitivity of 25e-6 pF/Pa at 20 kPa this corresponds to
equivalent pressure of 140 Pa/K in the sensor output. Compared to the noise floor
of the measuring circuit proposed in Practical MEMS (0.6Pa) this number is very
large. This model shows that a naive choice of packaging can have a highly
detrimental effect on sensor performance.

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