Ultra‐Sensitive Dual‐Resonator Graphene Pressure Sensor with Temperature Self‐Compensation

TL;DR

A new graphene-based pressure sensor with high sensitivity and temperature compensation is developed for use in aerospace, automotive, and healthcare.

Contribution

A dual-resonator graphene sensor with integrated temperature self-compensation is introduced, offering ultra-sensitive pressure detection.

Findings

The sensor achieves a sensitivity of 24.1 kHz kPa−1, 68 times higher than silicon sensors.

It has a maximum pressure error of 6.51 kPa with an accuracy of 1.302% FS over a wide temperature range.

The sensor's compact design enables drone-based field experiments and portable sensing applications.

Abstract

Silicon resonator sensors have limitations in detecting small pressure changes due to their structural dimensions. Graphene nanomechanical resonators, with their ultra‐small thickness and excellent mechanical properties, offer the opportunity to break this limitation. Here, a highly sensitive graphene nanomechanical pressure sensor with integrated temperature self‐compensation is reported. It consists of two vacuum anode‐bonded graphene resonators: one is sensitive to pressure and temperature while the other to temperature only, allowing for the cancellation of thermal effects via detecting the difference in the resonant frequencies. A sensitivity of 24.1 kHz kPa−1 is achieved over the pressure range of 0.001 to 500 kPa, 68 times higher than the state‐of‐the‐art silicon pressure sensors. The full‐scale (FS) hysteresis error is 0.31% with a repeatability of 0.75% in three forward and reverse stroke pressure tests. Within the temperature range of −40 to 120 °C and the pressure range of 0.001 to 500 kPa, the maximum pressure error is 6.51 kPa, giving an accuracy of 1.302% FS. The high performance of the device makes it promising for applications in aerospace, automotive, and healthcare industries as well as other fields requiring high‐sensitivity pressure measurements.

This work presents a graphene resonator sensor based on a dual‐cavity interferometric scheme that achieves high sensitivity to pressure variations. Its lightweight and compact design enables drone‐based field experiments, underscoring the promise of graphene optomechanical devices for portable and scalable sensing applications.

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