"Semiconductor Strain Gauge Using a Shear Beam Element Etched from a Silicon Chip"

PSU Invention Disclosure No. 96-0663

Inventor: Neil B. Kimerer, Jr.

Licensing Contact: Ronald J. Huss

Issued U.S. Patent Nos. 5,962,792; 6,318,184; 6,230,571; 6,298,733

The shear beam strain gauge is major improvement compared to traditional etched-foil and wire-wound strain gauges. Some of the advantages include:

• A gauge factor (range) 5 to 200 times larger than a foil gauge
• Self compensating for temperature
• Designed for large range of strains with no loss in sensitivity
• Can be calibrated prior to use
• Up to 10 times more accurate than foil gauges
• Can be bonded directly to many surfaces
• Compatible with existing strain gauge instrumentation and techniques
• Produces a large signal
• Signal conditioning and excitation voltage control can be built into the chip making the gauge ideal for use in "smart" sensors
• The gauge can be configured to be an accelerometer

Potential applications of the strain gauge include analytical balances, grocery store scales, bathroom scales, truck scales, laboratory applications, bearing monitors, sensors for automobile airbag deployment, sensors for smart automobile suspensions, condition-based maintenance (versus time-based maintenance) and many other potential applications.

The U.S. market for strain gauges in 1994 was $106 million with 776,000 units sold. The world market was $265 million with 1,940,000 units sold.
The U.S. patent application for this invention has been allowed, but has not yet issued.