Pressure Sensor Manufacturing Solution DFM/DFA

Sensors continue to be a huge growth area as technology gets "smarter" and integrates with other devices. Pressure and airflow sensors are found in cars, medical devices, military systems, and most devices which require information about its surroundings. A variety of pressure sensors are available for these applications from a range of major manufacturers. This associate has experience working with 5 major manufacturers of pressure sensors in terms of producing optimized high-volume manufacturing solutions. DFM / DFA advice can be offered while preserving confidential and proprietary information related to specific processes and designs.

Several challenges are presented when examining a typical pressure / air flow sensor :

1. An electronic circuit needs to interface with "the outside world" while electrically connected. This always requires an airtight connection to the semiconductor sensor chip or circuit, which can be very difficult to achieve at high volumes of production.
2. The sensor package design is subjected to a wide variety of environmental factors, while still required to respond with highly accurate readings.
3. From an electronics packaging standpoint, an air sensor incorporates all 3 levels in a very small volume
   • Level 1 : Chip / semiconductor
   • Level 2 : PCB
   • Level 3 : End product
4. Products are typically cost-sensitive given the variety of parts and materials required for production, and reliability and quality is "a given"

Several specific cases can be cited where the associate worked with a manufacturer to overcome some of these challenges in order to deploy a high volume solution in a short amount of time. One case involved the deployment of machine vision and displacement sensing to detect key steps along a manufacturing process. It was shown that the cost of these steps could easily be justified against the increase in quality and reliability for the sensor. Given certain design parameters, the solution was designed to ensure product was produced within a range of control limits set by software. The associate specified the performance requirements for the process detection and ensured the system was tested under a variety of conditions.

Another example involves several consultation sessions with product designers to refine a sensor design to suit standard semiconductor manufacturing processes. This often is preferred in order to leverage component packaging standards and equipment capabilities where purpose-built equipment brings unacceptable unforeseen factors to such a critical manufacturing process. Several scenarios and line layouts were developed and presented along with weighted pros and cons in areas including cost, reliability, and scalability. Design features were guided with the associate's collective experience across a wide range of sensors and manufacturing solutions to produce an optimized result.

To see the resume of the expert associated with this case study, see the link below.