A Five-Hole Pressure Probe Based on Integrated MEMS Fiber-Optic Fabry-Perot Sensors

Micromachines (Basel). 2024 Apr 22;15(4):554. doi: 10.3390/mi15040554.

Abstract

The five-hole pressure probe based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology is designed to meet the needs of engine inlet pressure measurement. The probe, including a pressure-sensitive detection unit and a five-hole probe encapsulation structure, combines the advantages of a five-hole probe with fiber optic sensing. The pressure-sensitive detection unit utilizes silicon-glass anodic bonding to achieve the integrated and batch-producible manufacturing of five pressure-sensitive Fabry-Perot (FP) cavities. The probe structure and parameters of the sensitive unit were optimized based on fluid and mechanical simulations. The non-scanning correlation demodulation technology was applied to extract specific cavity lengths from multiple interference surfaces. The sealing platform was established to analyze the sealing performance of the five-hole probe and the pressure-sensitive detection unit. The testing platform was established to test the pressure response characteristics of the probe. Experimental results indicate that the probe has good sealing performance between different air passages, making it suitable for detecting pressure from multiple directions. The pressure responses are linear within the range of 0-250 kPa, with the average pressure sensitivity of the five sensors ranging from 11.061 to 11.546 nm/kPa. The maximum non-linear error is ≤1.083%.

Keywords: MEMS; fiber-optic Fabry–Perot; five-hole probe; pressure measurement.