Abstract
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology allows the development of sensors with small size, lightweight, low cost, and high sensitivity. This paper presents the structural and electro-thermal design of a novel magnetic field sensor based on Sandia Ultra-planar Multi-level MEMS Technology V (SUMMTiV) process, which exploits the Lorentz force and operates at atmospheric pressure. The proposed sensor can detect magnetic field densities in twoorthogonal directions (2D) using an optical sensing technique. It is integrated by simple resonant structure of polysilicon beams (17 μm × 2.25 μm), and aluminum loop (13 μm × 0.7 μm) and a micromirror (60 μm × 60 μm). For an alternating current of 1 mA, the sensor has a theoretical linear response for magnetic field densities from 500 to 10000 μT, a bending resonant frequency of 7066 Hz, a theoretical sensitivity of 93.1 μm·T-1, a theoretical resolution of 410.3 μT and low power consumption close to 4.5 μW.
Keywords: Lorentz force, magnetic field sensor, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), SUMMiTV process, resonant structure, optical sensing technique