Resistive pressure sensors integrated with a coriolis mass flow sensor

Abstract

We report on a novel resistive pressure sensor that is completely integrated with a Coriolis mass flow sensor on one chip, without the need for extra fabrication steps or different materials. Two pressure sensors are placed in-line with the Coriolis sensor without requiring any changes to the fluid path. This enables the measurement over the pressure drop of the Coriolis mass flow sensor and ΔP flow sensing. By combining this pressure drop with the output signal of the Coriolis mass flow sensor, real-time viscosity characterization is also possible. Since the pressure sensor consists of a Wheatstone bridge, no complex interfacing electronics are needed. The first characterization of the sensor shows a linear sensitivity of 4 μVbar−1 for a pressure range from 0 bar to 1 bar.