Analytical Study of Graphene as a Novel Piezoresistive Material for MEMS Pressure Sensor Application

Abstract

The one-atom thick layer of carbon has been investigated with its unique exclusive property such as high thermal conductivity due to the high velocity of electron and exceptional electrical conductivity as well as mechanical strength. Due to its extraordinary properties; graphene put back many conventional materials to due smart, sensitive applications. As graphene has no band gap (Eg ~0 eV) but there is one method to induce a band gap by applying strain and each specific strain direction will create a unique band gap structure, in return it give signals which can be sensed by the device. The device can be operated either optically or electrically at different pressure levels up to Tera Pascal range thereby providing designers and engineers with a versatile sensing solution. To fabricate MEMS sensor based on a single layer of graphene, the piezoresistive pressure is becoming the most devastating problem up to nanoscale without damaging and high quality, defect free graphene. In this paper, we discussed the issues and cost effective solutions to integrate MEMS/NEMS pressure sensor device. We also compared the sensor performance with traditional piezoresistive materials.