AN EXPLORATION OF THE POTENTIAL OF P-N JUNCTION DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCER APPLICATIONS.

The purpose of the project was to explore the potential of pn junction devices for transducer applications. In particular, the aim was to generate information that could be used to assess whether this new transducer concept can advance the present state of transducer technology. We have used transistors as sensing elements because of the built-in amplification and a linear relationship that exists between bias voltage V sub CE and pressure. The linear range can be controlled. For transducer action, the stress is applied to the transistor by means of a sharp sapphire indenter. Transistor transducers are characterized by very high sensitivity, excellent frequency response, from dc into the MHz range, and small size. Author