Broad Range Micro Pressure Sensor

Abstract

Disclosed is a micro pressure sensor including a plurality of modules that are operative over different ranges of pressure. The modules include a stack of at least two module layers, each module layer including a module body having walls that define a compartment and with the defined compartment partitioned into at least two sub-compartments, a port for fluid ingress or egress disposed in a first wall of the body, with remaining walls of the body being solid walls, a membrane affixed to a first surface of the module body covering the compartment, and an electrode affixed over a surface of the membrane.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method of manufacturing a micro pressure sensor, method comprising:
 patterning a sheet of material to produce body elements having peripheral walls, with the body elements further patterned into at least two compartments, with the at least two compartments defined by the peripheral walls of the body elements and interior walls of the body elements, with portions of the interior walls having openings to allow fluid ingress and egress among the at least two compartments, and the peripheral walls having a single opening to allow only one of fluid ingress into the body element or fluid egress out of the body element;   affixing to the body elements, a sheet of a flexible material, with the sheet of flexible material being flexible relative to the material of the sheet that produced the body elements, the sheet of flexible material having a conductive surface layer;   dicing the affixed body elements to produce module layers; and   stacking the module layers one over the other, according to whether the single opening in a given module layer provides the fluid ingress into the body element or the fluid egress out of the body element producing the micro pressure sensor.   
     
     
         22 . The method of claim of  21  further comprising:
 patterning the conductive layers into isolated regions to provide electrodes. 
 
     
     
         23 . The method of claim of  21  further comprising:
 patterning the conductive layers to produce electrodes having tabs for connection to an external circuit. 
 
     
     
         24 . The method of claim of  21  further comprising:
 affixing the stack of module layer between a pair of end caps. 
 
     
     
         25 . The method of claim of  24  wherein patterning the sheet to provide the body elements, further comprises:
 patterning the sheet to provide holes through portions of the peripheral walls of the body element; 
 forming through the holes, conductive vias to contact corresponding ones of the module layers. 
 
     
     
         26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . The method of claim of  21  wherein patterning the sheet to provide the body elements, further comprises:
 patterning the sheet to produce the opening in a first peripheral wall of each of the body elements. 
 
     
     
         27 . The method of claim of  21  further comprises:
 applying end caps to over a first one and a last one the module layers in the stack. 
 
     
     
         28 . The method of claim of  25  wherein four holes are provided and each module has one hole that contacts one tab and four modules are used to contact each of four holes. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28  wherein patterning the more than two compartments, further comprises:
 patterning a first number of the body elements into a first number of more than two compartments and a second number of the body elements into a second, different number compartments, with the second, different number being greater than the first number. 
 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  further comprising:
 stacking first module layers produced from the first number of body elements into a first group having the first number of the plurality of compartments; and 
 stacking second module layers produced from the second number of body elements into a second group having the second number of the plurality of compartments. 
 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 21  further comprising:
 configuring the single openings of a first set of the module layers, as inlet ports with remaining walls of the first set of the module layers being solid walls; and 
 configuring the single openings of a second set of the module layers, as reference ports with remaining walls of the second set of the module layers being solid walls. 
 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  further comprising:
 arranging in the stacking of the module layers the first set of the plurality of module layers into a first number of compartments that are of at least two different surface areas; and 
 arranging in the stacking of the module layers of last ones of the plurality of module layers into a second number of compartments that are more than the least two different surface areas, and with the second number being greater than the first number. 
 
     
     
         33 . A method of manufacturing a micro pressure sensor, method comprising:
 patterning a sheet of material to produce body elements having peripheral walls and at least two compartments that are defined by the peripheral walls of the body elements and interior walls of the body elements, with portions of the interior walls having openings to allow fluid ingress and egress among the at least two compartments, and a single one of the peripheral walls having an opening to allow only one of fluid ingress into the body element or fluid egress out of the body element, with remaining peripheral walls being solid walls;   affixing a sheet of a flexible material over surfaces of the body elements, with the sheet of flexible material being flexible relative to the material of the sheet that produced the body elements, and with the sheet of flexible material having a conductive surface layer;   dicing the affixed sheet to produce module layers; and   stacking the module layers one over the other, according to whether the single opening in a given one of the module layers provides the fluid ingress into the body element or the fluid egress out of the body element, to produce the micro pressure sensor.   
     
     
         34 . The method of claim of  33 , further comprises:
 patterning the conductive layers into isolated regions to provide electrodes.   
     
     
         35 . The method of claim of  33 , further comprises:
 patterning the conductive layers to produce electrodes having tabs for connection to an external circuit.   
     
     
         36 . The method of claim of  33 , further comprises:
 affixing the stack of module layers between a pair of end caps.   
     
     
         37 . The method of claim of  33  wherein patterning the sheet to provide the body elements, further comprises:
 patterning the sheet to produce the single opening in a first peripheral wall of each of the body elements. 
 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 33  wherein patterning the sheet to produce the least two compartments, further comprises:
 patterning the at least two compartments into a plurality of more than two compartments that are defined by interior walls that have openings to allow fluid ingress and egress among the plurality of compartments. 
 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38  wherein patterning the at least two compartments into the plurality of more than two compartments, comprises:
 patterning a first number of the module layers into a first number of the plurality of the more than two compartments and a second number of the module layers into a second greater number of the plurality of compartments. 
 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 29  further comprising:
 stacking the first module layers into a first group having the first number of the plurality of compartments; and 
 stacking the second module layers into a second group having the second number of the plurality of compartments, with the second number being greater than the first number. 
 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising:
 configuring a first set of the single openings as inlet ports with remaining walls of the module layers being solid walls; and   configuring a second set of the single openings as reference ports with remaining walls of the module layers being solid walls.