Stable Pressure Sensor

该项目的目标是设计、建造和测试一个非常稳定和敏感的深海压力表。目前可用的压力表在一段时间内和在不同的温度下漂移，其灵敏度往往不足以进行现代调查。单晶，半导体级硅具有很少的结构位错和外来原子。这种材料已被证明具有固有的稳定性，适合用作压力传感器。将开发将膜片密封到硅晶体上的方法，使换能器可用于海底高压时期。还将采用各种方案来构造电极和其他电子元件。该系统随后将在海上进行测试和校准。改进后的压力传感器将在海底的地球物理研究、物理海洋学和工业方面有若干应用。

Objectives of this project are to design, build, and test a very stable and sensitive deep sea pressure gauge. Presently available pressure gauges drift over periods of time and under differing temperatures and their sensitivity is often inadequate for modern investigations. Single crystal, semiconductor grade silicon has very few structural dislocations and foreign atoms. This material has been proven to be inherently stable and suitable for use as a pressure transducer. Methods will be developed for sealing a diaphragm to the silicon crystal in such a way that the transducer will be usable for periods of high pressure on the seafloor. Various options for constructing electrodes and other electronic components will also be undertaken. The system will then be tested at sea and calibrated. Improved pressure sensors will have several applications in geophysical studies of the sea floor, in physical oceanography, and in industry.