A piezoelectric cantilever-type differential pressure sensor for a low standby power trigger switch

This paper describes a piezoelectric differential pressure sensor using a cantilevered structure with dimensions of 1500 × 1000 × 2 µm³. A high degree of sensitivity is achieved without the power supply because only the base part of the cantilever is fixed and the piezoelectric material is used as a sensing element. The measurements indicate that the fabricated cantilever bends and a piezoelectric voltage was generated matching the piezoelectric theory for when a differential pressure is applied. The sensitivity to the applied differential pressure was 2.4 mV Pa⁻¹ for a range between −30 Pa and 30 Pa. Additionally, it was also demonstrated that the sensor performs as a wake-up switch during the pressure shifts of 10 Pa with low-power consumption. (paper)