Enhanced Performance Silicon Pressure Sensors for Automotive Applications

An automotive pressure transducer incorporating an ultra flexible mixed signal CMOS ASIC and a well established bulk-micromachined sensing element is presented demonstrating enhanced performance over the demanding automotive temperature specification.

Limited statistical knowledge of both the sensor and ASIC performance is shown to lead to much simplified calibration algorithms during high volume manufacture yielding low overall transducer errors.

Results are presented to demonstrate both the enhanced performance and ASIC flexibility. The advantages of custom design of a signal processing ASIC to a targeted range of pressure sensor die is clearly demonstrated.