Development of a wireless pressure measurement system using interdigitated capacitors

Remote pressure monitoring is of particular importance in medical and environmental applications as it is less labour intensive, safer and offers peace of mind to the general public. To meet this demand, a prototype system has been developed and used to evaluate thick-film pressure sensors with an oxide dielectric layer. The circuit is based on the principle of capacitance-frequency-voltage conversion and has been designed to minimize power consumption. Each device was tested under hydrostatic pressure in the range 0-17 kPa and assessed in terms of sensitivity, hysteresis, repeatability, creep and temperature effects. The results show that this approach may be used for the fabrication of cost effective, reliable devices for wireless pressure sensing applications.