ABSTRACT
Pressure sensors represent one of the greatest successes of micromachining technology. In the past four decades, this field has produced both commercially available and research-oriented devices for a variety of automotive, biomedical, and industrial applications. Automotive applications include pressure sensors for the engine manifold, fuel lines, exhaust gases, tires, seats, and other uses. Biomedical applications that have been proposed or developed include implantable devices for measuring ocular, cranial, or bowel pressure, and
devices in catheters that can aid procedures such as angioplasty. Many industrial applications exist that relate to monitoring manufacturing processes. In the semiconductor sector, for example, process steps such as plasma etching or deposition and chemical vapor deposition are very sensitive to operating pressures.
