Piezoresistive pressure sensors in CVD diamond for high-temperature applications

Abstract

The fabrication of piezo-resistive pressure sensors for high temperature applications by the selective removal of CVD-diamond is limited due to the jutting physical properties of this material, which result in insufficient etching rates. A novel technique with distinctly increased etching rates due to a modified sample arrangement inside of a commercially available reactive ion etching (RIE) reactor overcomes this limitation by a restricted plasma volume. Rates up to 334 nm/min imply an increase of more than one order of magnitude in comparison with additional measurements utilizing a standard etching technique. Furthermore, the electrical response of a fabricated sensor on pressure is demonstrated.