PRESSURE TRANSDUCERS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME

The invention improves upon the diaphragm/beam-type transducers and method of manufacturing same described in U.S. Patent No. 4,368,575. The new transducers and method of manufacture utilize strips or slivers of silicon or germanium which are larger than the individual strips used in the apparatus and method described in U.S. Patent No. 4,368,575 by an amount sufficient to permit (a) the formation of two gages on each strip and (b) the forming of bonding pads on each gage. The bonding pads are formed on the gage strip before the strip is bonded to the beam, so that formation of the bonding pads and bonding of the strip to the beam can be handled automatically. The strips are mounted to one side of the midpoint of the beams, so that when a diaphragm/beam is deflected by application of a fluid pressure, one of the two gages will undergo a tension strain while the other gage will undergo a compression strain. Because both gages form part of the same silicon or germanium strip, they tend to be virtually identical in physical and electrical properties, thereby simplifying calibration of the resulting transducers.