Wireless contactless pressure measurement of an LC passive pressure sensor with a novel antenna for high-temperature applications

In this paper, a novel antenna is proposed for high-temperature testing, which can make the high-temperature pressure characteristics of a wireless passive ceramic pressure sensor demonstrated at up to a temperature of 600℃. The design parameters of the antenna are similar to those of the sensor, which will increase the coupling strength between the sensor and testing antenna. The antenna is fabricated in thick film integrated technology, and the properties of the alumina ceramic and silver ensure the feasibility of the antenna in high-temperature environments. The sensor, coupled with the ceramic antenna, is investigated using a high-temperature pressure testing platform. The experimental measurement results show that the pressure signal in a harsh environment can be detected by the frequency diversity of the sensor.

A Novel Readout System for Wireless Passive Pressure Sensors

This paper presents a novel readout system for wireless passive pressure sensors based on the inductively coupled inductor and cavity （LC） resonant circuits. The proposed system consists of a reader antenna inductively coupled to the sensor circuit, a readout circuit, and a personal computer （PC） post processing unit. The readout circuit generates a voltage signal representing the sensor＇s capacitance. The frequency of the reader antenna driving signal is a constant, which is equal to the sensor＇s resonant frequency at zero pressure. Based on mechanical and electrical modeling, the pressure sensor design based on the high temperature co-fired ceramic （HTCC） technology is conducted and discussed. The functionality and accuracy of the readout system are tested with a voltage-capacitance measurement system and demonstrated in a realistic pressure measurement environment, so that the overall performance and the feasibility of the readout system are proved.

Passive wireless smart-skin sensor using RFID-based folded patch antennas

Folded patch antennas were investigated for the development of low-cost and wireless smart-skin sensors that monitor the strain in metallic structures.When the patch antenna is under strain/deformation,its resonance frequency varies accordingly.The variation can be easily interrogated and recorded by a wireless reader.The patch antenna adopts a specially chosen substrate material with low dielectric attenuation,as well as an inexpensive off-the-shelf radiofrequency identification(RFID)chip for signal modulation.Since the RFID chip harvests electromagnetic power from the interrogation signal emitted by the reader,the patch antenna itself does not require other(internal)power sources and,thus,serves as a battery-less(passive)and wireless strain sensor.In this preliminary investigation,a prototype folded patch antenna has been designed and manufactured.Tensile testing results show strong linearity between the interrogated resonance frequency and the strain experienced by the antenna.Through experiments,the strain sensing resolution is demonstrated to be under 50με,and the wireless interrogation distance is shown to be over a few feet for this preliminary prototype.

Development of a surface acoustic wave wireless and passive temperature sensor incorporating reflective delay line

based on optimal design on the core element of the sensor,a wireless and passive surface acoustic wave（SAW）temperature sensor integrated with ID Tag was presented.A reflective delay line,which consists of a transducer and eight reflectors on YZ LiNbO3 substrate.Was fabricated as the sensor element,in which,three reflectors were used for temperature sensing,and the other five were for the ID Tag using phase encoding.Single phase unidirectional transducers（SPUDTs）and shorted grating were used to structure the sAW device,leading to excellent signal to noise ratio（SNR）.The performance of the SAW device was simulated by the coupling of modes（COM）prior to fabrication.Using the network analyzer,the response in time domain of the fabricated 434 MHz SAW sensor was characterized,the measured S11 agrees well with the simulated one,sharp reflection peaks,high signal/noise,and low spurious noise between the reflection peaks were observed.Using the radar system based on FSCW as the reader unit.the developed SAW temperature sensors were evaluated wirelessly.Excellent1 inearity and good resolution of士1℃ were observed.