Inline pressure sensing mechanisms enabling scalable range and sensitivity

We report on two novel capacitive pressure sensing mechanisms that allow measurements inline with other fluidic devices on one chip, without introducing a large internal volume to the fluid path. The first sensing mechanism is based on out-of-plane bending of a U-shaped channel and the same structure could be used for thermal flow sensing simultaneously. The second mechanism is based on deformation of the cross-section of the tube and allows for differential capacitive readout. The sensitivity and range of both mechanisms are scalable. The current implementations are tested up to 2.45 bar and 1 bar respectively.