A MEMS Silicon-based Piezoelectric AC Current Sensor

Abstract

This paper describes a MEMS silicon-based piezoelectric AC current sensor that can be used to monitor the energy usage in an electric infrastructure. The overall device concept relies on a silicon cantilever that incorporates a permanent magnet in its mass and that is covered by a thin layer of piezoelectric material. When brought close to an AC current carrying wire, the magnet couples to the AC magnetic field from the conductor, causing the device to vibrate at the frequency of the AC signal. In contrast to previous work, the device in this paper operates at the resonance frequency for improved device response.