A Wide Range MEMS Vacuum Gauge Based on Knudsen’s Forces

V. Sista, and E. Bhattarchaya
Microelectronics and MEMS Lab
Department of Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of technology Madras
Chennai, India
Published in 2011

A MEMS based Knudsen’s pressure gauge working in the range of 1e-5 mbar to 10 mbar is designed and simulated in COMSOL. The working principle is based on Knudsen’s forces that arise when two plates are held at different temperatures and their separation is comparable to the mean free path of the ambient gas molecules. The forces change the separation between the plates and capacitance between the two plates is a measure of the ambient pressure.