Active Thermoelectric Vacuum Sensor Based on Frequency Modulation

This paper introduces a thermoelectric-type sensor with a built-in heater as an alternative approach to the measurement of vacuum pressure based on frequency modulation. The proposed sensor is fabricated using the TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu, Taiwan) 0.35 μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor-microelectro-mechanical systems (CMOS-MEMS) process with thermocouples positioned central-symmetrically. The proposed frequency modulation technique involves locking the sensor output signal at a given frequency using a phase-lock-loop (PLL) amplifier to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and thereby enhance the sensitivity of vacuum measurements. An improved first harmonic signal detection based on asymmetrical applied heating gives a precise measurement. Following calibration, the output voltage is in good agreement with the calibration values, resulting in an error of 0.25% under pressures between 0.1-10 Torr.