A novel capacitive pressure sensor is presented, whose sensing structure is a solid-state capacitor consisting of three square membranes with Al/SiO2/n-type silicon. It was fabricated using pn junction self-stop etching combined with adhesive bonding,and only three masks were used during the process. Sensors with side lengths of 1000,1200,and 1400μm were fabricated,showing sensitivity of 1.8,2.3, and 3.6fF/hPa over the range of 410～ 1010hPa, respectively. The sensi- tivity of the sensor with a side length of 1500μm is 4. 6fF/hPa,the nonlinearity is 6. 4% ,and the max hysteresis is 3.6%. The results show that permittivity change plays an important part in the capacitance change.
The forces between two molecularly smooth mica surfaces are measured in monovalent and divalent cations electrolyte solutions by a surface force apparatus （SFA）. The properties of K＋, Na＋, and Mg2＋ between molecularly smooth mica surfaces are investigated. The Derjagui-Landau- Verwey-Overbeek （DLVO） force and the hydration force are detected in the experiment. The results show that in lower concentrations of a monovalent electrolyte solution （about 10-4 mol/L）, the force curves are completely in good agreement with those computed by the DLVO theory. However, additional short-range repulsive forces which deviate from the DLVO theory are observed when the concentrations of cations are above the critical bulk concentration, which is different for each electrolyte. The results show the properties of these cations on both the screening effect adsorbed on the mica surface and the hydration in solution. From the results, the interaction energy between two hydrated ions of potassium or sodium can also be estimated.
