MEMS Based Silicon Load Cell for Weighing Applications

D. Chauhan[1], B. D. Pant[2]
[1]Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
[2]CSIR- Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
Published in 2014

Load cells are force sensors, which are used in weighing equipment. The objective of this work is to develop MEMS based load cell. In this work two different load cell designs were simulated. First design is based on compressing a meander like polysilicon strain gage for the measurement of high forces up to 10kN. Second design is based on MEMS pressure sensor consisting of membrane, on which force (up to 500N) is applied keeping the surrounding frame fixed. The simulation results depicts the sensitivity and range of output voltage for both load cells measured over range of applied forces.