Fabrication of capacitive transducers

Abstract

A method for constructing a capacitive transducer by depositing a uniform glass insulating ring. The capacitive transducer consists of a circular base substrate and a circular diaphragm, each supporting one of two capacitor electrode and separated by a uniform glass insulating ring which determines a uniform air gap between the capacitor electrodes. Pressure changes cause the diaphragm to flex and thereby produce capacitance changes in relation to the pressure being sensed. The thickness of the glass insulating ring is critical to the production of an accurate pressure transducer and is produced in the following manner. A first glass insulating ring layer is screen printed onto a substrate through a mask having a pattern therein. Subsequently, the relative rotational orientation between the mask pattern and the first screened layer is altered by a predetermined number of degrees and a second screened layer is deposited on top of the first layer. By this technique, a uniformly thick layer of glass frit (finely divided particles) is deposited on the substrate despite any imperfections or variations in the thickness of the mask or the uniformity of the pattern contained in the mask.