1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to SAW sensors having an adjustment for setting the preload, and more particularly to SAW pressure sensors including passive wireless SAW pressure sensors that can be used to measure high pressures
2. The Prior Art
SAW pressure sensors are very well known in practice. They are based either on delay lines or on resonators. They can be either wired or wireless passive devices. In the former case they can be a part of an oscillator feedback loop so the frequency of the (Continuous Wave) CW signal generated by the oscillator will depend on pressure. In the latter case they can be connected to an antenna forming a passive backscatterer. Interrogation of such a passive wireless sensor can be performed by a short RF pulse. The signal reflected from the sensor antenna will carry the information on the phase delays of the SAW (in the case of a reflective delay line sensor) or on the frequency of natural oscillations (in the case of a resonant sensor). After processing, this information will provide the pressure value.
A particular embodiment of the prior art SAW pressure sensing element based on SAW one-port resonators is shown in
It is vitally important for the operation of the pressure sensor shown in
The aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a simplified system for setting the preload of a SAW sensor which overcomes the problems of the prior art. A further aim is to provide a package for a SAW pressure sensing die that will allow the sensor to work at high pressure and simplify the assembly procedure and thus reduce the sensor cost.
According to the present invention there is provided a SAW based sensor comprising a base, a lid engageable with the base to form an internal cavity therewith, a substrate supported in the cavity on one of said base and said lid and a projection formed on the other of the base and tile lid which extends towards the substrate so as to engage against the substrate and apply a preload thereto, wherein the base and lid include complementary threads by means of which they are attachable to each other, the preload applied to the substrate by the projection being adjustable by varying the rotational position of the lid relative to the base.
A SAW based sensor in accordance with the invention has the advantage that the provision of a thread coupling between the lid and the base enables separation of the lid relative to the base, and hence load applied to the substrate by the projection, to be adjusted and set very easily by simply screwing the lid onto or off of the base or vice versa. Once the desired preload is achieved, the lid and base can then be permanently secured together, for example by means of a thread-lock adhesive, welding or the like so as to prevent accidental relative rotation between the two parts.
Preferably, the projection and the substrate are each centrally located on the respective parts so that the projection, which is preferably a dimple, engages the center of the substrate regardless of the relative rotation between the lid and the base.
The substrate is preferably supported on the lid on a pair of radially spaced apart ledges formed on an inner surface of the lid which faces towards the base, the ledges being symmetrically located on either side of the center of the lid and extending parallel to each other. The dimple is then formed in the center of the facing surface of the base.
Preferably the lid is a cylindrical cap having a female thread formed on its inner cylindrical surface which engages with a complementary male thread formed on an outer circumferential surface of the base. The engagement between the lid and the base, will, of course, form a hermetic seal such that the cavity can be maintained at a different pressure to the surrounds, thereby enabling monitoring of pressure.
The base is preferably also formed as a blind cylinder with one end being closed off and carrying the projection on its outer face. The outer circumferential surface of said one end is then threaded for engagement with the thread of the lid. The blind bore formed in the base is then, in use, fluidly coupled to a pressurised environment whose pressure is to be monitored, the one end of the base which separates the cavity formed between the base and the lid from the blind bore acting as a diaphragm which responds to changes in the pressure in the blind bore by varying the load applied by the dimple to the substrate. This, in turn, is detected by a SAW device mounted on the substrate.
The configuration is particularly applicable for use in measuring high pressure. The thickness and the diameter of the diaphragm can be selected/adjusted to control the flexibility of the diaphragm so that the maximum pressure to which the diaphragm is exposed does not result in an amount of strain in the SAW substrate being induced which would cause the resulting frequency shift to exceed the value limited by the ISM band width.
The outer surface of the base proximate to the open end of the cylinder advantageously also has a thread formed thereon by means of which, in use, the base may be screwed into a pipe, tank or the like whose inner environment is to be monitored, thereby exposing the blind bore and hence the inner surface of the diaphragm to the pressure to be monitored. A suitable seal will, of course, be provided to ensure a fluid tight coupling between the base and the pipe/tank.
Preferably the closed end of the base is thinner in a central region which overlies the blind bore and acts as a diaphragm than the region which surrounds the central region. This ensures that a robust region is provided for carrying the thread which mates with the lid whilst the diaphragm responsiveness can be set to meet the required. Moreover, the thicker outer section will be less susceptible to deformation during heating, enabling welding to be used to permanently fix the lid to the base without requiring subsequent tuning/trimming.
In order that the invention may be well understood, there will now be described an embodiment thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, reference being made to the accompanying drawings:
To facilitate mechanical preloading of the existing SAW sensing die, and simplify application of high pressure to the sensor, a new package is proposed according to the present invention as shown in
There are also two pins 18 with at least one of them electrically isolated from the lid 13. Two electrical terminals of the SAW die are connected to the two pins inside the package. The two pins can be used to connect the sensor to any suitable type of antenna if the sensor is used as a wireless passive transponder. Alternatively they can be used to connect the sensor to any interrogation electronic circuitry.
The package presented in
Examples of the dimensions are presented in the table below for the maximum pressure of 5000 psi.
As an example,
The second aspect is the way in which preloading of the SAW die is performed. The lid 13 and the base 11 have a thread 19 with a sufficiently small pitch such that the base 11 is screwed into the lid 13 after bonding the SAW die 14 to the pins 18 until the dimple 16 starts touching the die 14. This moment can be easily detected by means of monitoring the PSAW resonant frequency f1, for example, using a network analyser. As soon as f1 increases up to its target value screwing should be stopped and the lid should be welded (or bonded by an adhesive) to the base to provide hermeticity. Thus, the fine pitch thread 19 on the base and on the lid facilitates a relatively simple automated preloading process during packaging of the pressure sensor. Relatively large thickness of the base and the lid, in the region where they are welded to each other, minimise their deformation during welding and thus may eliminate the need for subsequent trimming of the sensor and thus drastically reduce its cost.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0813717.6 | Jul 2008 | GB | national |