A chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor and its measurement method

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, comprising: N pairs of external sensing electrodes, N electric field differential measurement devices and a signal conditioning circuit, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 3; wherein each of the N pairs of external sensing electrodes is used to sense an external electric field signal of one dimension; the N electric field differential measurement devices are electrically connected to the N pairs of external sensing electrodes in a one-to-one correspondence, and are used to perform differential processing on the external electric field signal and output a detection signal; the signal conditioning circuit is electrically connected to the N electric field differential measurement devices, and is used to condition the detection signal and output a three-dimensional electric field signal. The present disclosure also provides a three-dimensional electric field measurement method.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of sensor technology, and in particular to a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor and a measurement method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Electric fields are a key detection target in fields such as aerospace, petroleum static warning, and power grid fault detection, and their detection is of great significance. However, existing electric field sensors have the following problems: 1) Traditional electric field measurement methods all have a reference end, which is inevitably affected by environmental interference, resulting in a deviation between the measurement result and the actual result; 2) Traditional three-dimensional electric field sensors often require the coordination of multiple electric field measurement devices to accurately measure the electric field signal of a certain dimension, which not only increases the complexity of the sensor system but also cannot guarantee the accuracy of the measurement data; 3) To obtain the most accurate data possible, existing three-dimensional electric field sensors have strict requirements on the location and environment of the electric field measurement, making operation complex and implementation difficult. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the present disclosure provides a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor and its measurement method. By improving the electric field differential measurement device and the electric field detection method, it aims to achieve chip-level differential measurement of electric field signals and solve the problems of low measurement accuracy and complex operation of traditional electric field sensors.

[0004] A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, comprising: N pairs of external sensing electrodes, N electric field differential measurement devices, and a signal conditioning circuit, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 3; wherein each of the N pairs of external sensing electrodes is used to sense an external electric field signal of one dimension; the N electric field differential measurement devices are electrically connected to the N pairs of external sensing electrodes in a one-to-one correspondence, and are used to differentially process the external electric field signal and output a detection signal; and the signal conditioning circuit is electrically connected to the N electric field differential measurement devices, and is used to condition the detection signal and output a three-dimensional electric field signal.

[0005] Furthermore, each of the N electric field differential measurement devices includes: a shell; an electric field sensitive chip, which is arranged in the shell; and a sealing cover, which is located on the shell and the electric field sensitive chip and is used to encapsulate the electric field sensitive chip in the shell.

[0006] Furthermore, the electric field sensitive chip is used to complete the differential measurement of the electric field signal, including: a group of differential input terminals, used to receive the external electric field signal obtained by a pair of external sensing electrodes correspondingly connected thereto; an electric field differential chip, used to perform differential processing on the external electric field signal and output a detection signal; and a detection signal output terminal, used to output the detection signal to a signal conditioning circuit correspondingly connected thereto.

[0007] Furthermore, N electric field differential measurement devices are assembled in the same plane or in a three-dimensional assembly manner, wherein, when the N electric field differential measurement devices are assembled in the same plane, the N electric field differential measurement devices are periodically distributed in parallel on the same plane; when the N electric field differential measurement devices are assembled in a three-dimensional assembly manner, each electric field differential measurement device in the N electric field differential measurement devices is not coplanar with its adjacent electric field differential measurement device.

[0008] Furthermore, the electric field sensitive chip also includes: a plurality of bonding pads, which are arranged on the electric field differential chip and used to weld the electric field differential chip to the pins on the shell through metal wires to complete the electrical connection between the electric field differential chip and its corresponding external sensing electrodes and signal conditioning circuit.

[0009] Furthermore, the N pair of external sensing electrodes is one or more of a square electrode, a rectangular electrode, a diamond electrode and a circular electrode.

[0010] Furthermore, the sealing plate and the cover plate are made of one or more of metal materials, semiconductor materials, or insulating materials coated with a metal layer.

[0011] Furthermore, the electric field sensitive chip is manufactured using MEMS processing technology, micro-nano processing technology or precision processing technology.

[0012] Furthermore, each of the N electric field differential measurement devices is connected to a pair of external sensing electrodes connected thereto via a supporting structure.

[0013] The second aspect of the present disclosure provides a three-dimensional electric field measurement method, which is implemented based on the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor provided by the first aspect of the present disclosure, including: placing the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor in an external electric field environment; N pairs of external induction electrodes respectively obtain external electric field signals of different dimensions, and output them accordingly to N electric field differential measurement devices; the N electric field differential measurement devices perform differential processing on the obtained external electric field signals and output detection signals; the signal conditioning circuit conditions the received detection signals and outputs three-dimensional electric field signals.

[0014] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, which realizes a chip-level differential measurement method for electric field signals through improvements in electric field differential measurement devices and electric field detection methods. The chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor is assembled from N pairs of external sensing electrodes, N electric field differential measurement devices, a signal conditioning circuit, and a supporting structure, and has the advantages of being free from interference from the external environment and accurate measurement data. When achieving the same detection target, the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor composed of chip-level electric field differential measurement devices greatly reduces the number of electric field measurement devices used, reduces the complexity of the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, and ensures the accuracy of the measurement data. At the same time, the use of chip-level electric field differential measurement devices greatly reduces the requirements of the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor for the installation position, performance, power consumption, etc. of the electric field measurement device, which not only reduces the complexity of assembling the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, but also greatly improves the environmental adaptability of the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference will now be made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 Schematically shows a three-dimensional diagram of a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 2 The figure schematically shows a structural diagram of an electric field differential measurement device and a signal conditioning circuit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3 Schematically shows a perspective view of a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 4 The figure schematically shows a perspective view of a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the detailed description below, for ease of explanation, many specific details are set forth to provide a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it is apparent that one or more embodiments may also be implemented without these specific details. In addition, in the following description, descriptions of well-known structures and technologies are omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concepts of the present disclosure.

[0021] The terms used herein are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The terms "comprise," "include," etc. used herein indicate the presence of the features, steps, operations, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, or components.

[0022] All terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art unless otherwise defined. It should be noted that the terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the context of this specification and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly rigid manner.

[0023] Figure 1 The figure schematically shows a perspective view of a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor includes: N pairs of external sensing electrodes, N electric field differential measurement devices, and a signal conditioning circuit, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 3. Each of the N external sensing electrodes is used to sense an external electric field signal in one dimension, and the N external sensing electrodes are used to complete three-dimensional electric field signal sensing. The N electric field differential measurement devices 20 are electrically connected to the N external sensing electrodes 10 in a one-to-one correspondence, and are used to perform differential processing on the external electric field signals and output detection signals. The signal conditioning circuit 30 is electrically connected to the N electric field differential measurement devices 20, and is used to condition the detection signals it receives, specifically converting the weak signals detected by the sensitive elements into standard signals, and then outputting three-dimensional electric field signals.

[0025] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, each pair of external sensing electrodes includes two external sensing electrodes 10 arranged opposite to each other, that is, N pairs of external sensing electrodes include 2N external sensing electrodes, and each pair of external sensing electrodes is arranged opposite to each other to complete the sensing of an external electric field signal in one dimension. Figure 1 As shown, each pair of external sensing electrodes 10 includes a first external sensing electrode 101 and a second external sensing electrode 102 arranged opposite to each other. The first external sensing electrode 101 and the second external sensing electrode 102 complete the external electric field signal sensing in the vertical direction and output the sensed external electric field signal to the electric field differential measurement device 20 connected thereto.

[0026] Specifically, each external sensing electrode can be made of metal material, conductive composite material or semiconductor material, and its shape can be one or more of square electrode, rectangular electrode, diamond electrode and circular electrode. Figure 1As shown, each pair of external sensing electrodes 10 of the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor and the electric field differential measurement device 20 connected thereto are connected via a support structure 40 to sense changes in external electric field signals and achieve electric field measurement in one dimension through a differential detection method.

[0027] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, each electric field differential measuring device 20 is electrically connected to a pair of external sensing electrodes 10, and is used to perform differential processing on the external electric field signal obtained by the external sensing electrodes 10, thereby obtaining an electric field detection signal for subsequent signal analysis. Figure 1 As shown, there are three pairs of external sensing electrodes consisting of six external sensing electrodes. If the three external sensing electrodes are distributed up and down, left and right, and front and back, respectively, each of the three external sensing electrodes is electrically connected to an electric field differential measurement device 20 to realize external electric field signal sensing in three directions.

[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, the N electric field differential measurement devices 20 included in the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor can be assembled in the same plane (i.e., flat panel assembly), and the electric field differential measurement device 20 and the signal conditioning circuit 30 are arranged on a PCB board to realize chip-level electric field differential signal measurement, reduce the operational complexity of the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, and greatly improve the accuracy of the three-dimensional electric field measurement data.

[0029] Specifically, if Figure 2 As shown, each electric field differential measurement device 20 includes: a housing 210, an electric field sensitive chip 220 and a sealing cover 230. The housing 210 is arranged on a printed circuit board (PCB) and is used to provide packaging for the electric field sensitive chip 220. The electric field sensitive chip 220 is arranged in the housing 210. The sealing cover 230 is located on the housing 210 and the electric field sensitive chip 220, and encapsulates the electric field sensitive chip 220 in the housing 210. The housing 210 is used to provide packaging for the electric field sensitive chip 220, and can be a flat plate, a cylinder, a U-shaped groove or other irregular geometric structure containing a groove, etc., for placing the electric field sensitive chip 220. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the structure of the housing 210.

[0030] It should be noted that the electric field sensitive chip 220 can be installed in a surface mounting manner or a pin insertion manner, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the installation manner of the electric field sensitive chip 220 .

[0031] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 2As shown, the electric field sensitive chip 220 in each electric field differential measurement device 20 includes: a set of differential input terminals, an electric field differential chip 223, and a detection signal output terminal. The set of differential input terminals 221 and 222 is used to receive the external electric field signal obtained by the pair of external sensing electrodes 10 connected thereto. For example, the differential input terminal 221 is used to receive the external electric field signal from the first external sensing electrode 101, and the differential input terminal 222 is used to receive the external electric field signal from the second external sensing electrode 102; and vice versa. The electric field differential chip 223 is used to differentially process the external electric field signals received by the set of differential input terminals 221 and 222 and output a detection signal. The detection signal output terminal (not shown in the figure) is used to output the detection signal to the signal conditioning circuit 30 connected thereto.

[0032] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the electric field sensor chip 220 can be fabricated using chip processing technologies such as MEMS processing technology, micro-nano processing technology, or precision machining technology. The cover plate 230 is composed of one or more of a metal material, a semiconductor material, or an insulating material coated with a metal layer, and is used to encapsulate the electric field sensor chip 220.

[0033] like Figure 2 As shown, the housing 210 includes device pins 211 and a bonding frame 212. The housing 210 is located on a PCB and is used to support an electric field sensing chip 220. The device pins 211 are embedded within the housing 210. Metal wires are used to connect multiple bonding pads 224 on the electric field sensing chip 220 to the device pins 211 on the housing 210, thereby electrically connecting the electric field sensing chip 220 to its corresponding pair of external sensing electrodes 10 and the signal conditioning circuit 30.

[0034] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, during the preparation of the electric field differential measurement device 20, the electric field differential chip 223 can be fixed to the housing 210 using epoxy resin. Then, wire bonding is performed using metal wires (such as gold, tin, copper, aluminum, etc.) or conductive resin to connect the multiple bonding pads 224 on the electric field sensitive chip 220 to the device pins 211 on the housing 210. Parallel seam welding is then used under the action of a pulsed current to melt the contact between the package cover 230 and the pressure welding frame 212 on the housing 210. Under the pressure of the roller motor, the contact solidifies to form a solder joint. This process is repeated twice to complete the preparation of the chip-level electric field differential measurement device 20.

[0035] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the parallel seam welding technology, which is one of the capping processes, is used to achieve sealing between the package cover 230 and the housing 210 , thereby greatly improving the environmental adaptability of the electric field differential measurement device 20 .

[0036] To achieve three-dimensional electric field detection, it is generally only necessary to detect the magnitude of the electric field components in three orthogonal directions. The electric field differential measurement device 20 used in the embodiment of the present disclosure can realize the differential input of the external electric field signal. Under the condition that the impedance from the external sensing electrode to the two differential input terminals is equal, one electric field differential measurement device 20 can complete the electric field detection in one orthogonal direction.

[0037] Under the condition that the impedance from the differential measurement end to the pair of external sensing electrodes 10 in the same direction is equal, the electric field differential measurement device 20 can be assembled in the same plane, such as Figure 1 As shown; or, assembled in a three-dimensional assembly manner, such as Figure 3 As shown. When N electric field differential measuring devices are assembled in the same plane assembly mode, the N electric field differential measuring devices are periodically distributed in parallel on the same plane. When N electric field differential measuring devices 20 are assembled in a three-dimensional assembly mode, each electric field differential measuring device 20 of the N electric field differential measuring devices is not arranged coplanarly with its adjacent electric field differential measuring device. The electric field differential measuring device 20 arranged in the same plane assembly mode or the three-dimensional assembly mode can realize the measurement of the three-dimensional electric field by the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor by converting the external electric field signal obtained by the external sensing electrode into a differential signal and then outputting a detection signal. Among them, the obtained electric field strength can be expressed as:

[0038]

[0039] Where E is the electric field strength between a pair of external sensing electrodes 10, such as the electric field strength between the first external sensing electrode 101 and the second external sensing electrode 102; V1 and V2 respectively represent the potentials induced by the opposing external sensing electrodes, such as V1 represents the potential on the first external sensing electrode 101, and V2 represents the potential on the second external sensing electrode 102; and d represents the distance between the support structures 40 between the pair of external sensing electrodes, that is, the distance between the two support structures 40 between the first external sensing electrode 101 and the second external sensing electrode 102. Similarly, by obtaining the electric field strength between the third and fourth external sensing electrodes, and the electric field strength between the fifth and sixth external sensing electrodes, the three-dimensional electric field measurement can be completed.

[0040] like Figure 4The figure shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor composed of four pairs of external sensing electrodes. The chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor includes four pairs of relatively arranged external sensing electrodes composed of eight external sensing electrodes to complete the detection of the three-dimensional electric field. The chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor is more suitable for scenarios where the electric field is measured in multiple directions. It should be noted that the three-dimensional electric field sensor provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes but is not limited to being composed of three or four pairs of external sensing electrodes. In some complex electric field environments, it can also be composed of five, six or other pairs of external sensing electrodes to improve the adaptability of the three-dimensional electric field sensor to the environment and improve the measurement accuracy of the electric field.

[0041] An embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a three-dimensional electric field measurement method, which is implemented based on the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor provided by the above-mentioned embodiment of the present disclosure, and specifically includes: placing the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor shown in the above-mentioned embodiment in an external electric field environment; N pairs of external sensing electrodes respectively obtain external electric field signals of different dimensions, and output them accordingly to N electric field differential measurement devices; the N electric field differential measurement devices perform differential processing on the obtained external electric field signals and output detection signals; the signal conditioning circuit conditions the received detection signals and outputs three-dimensional electric field signals.

[0042] It should be noted that the three-dimensional electric field measurement method provided in the present disclosure is implemented based on the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor shown in the above embodiment, and the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor is not described again here.

[0043] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, which realizes a chip-level differential measurement method of electric field signals through improvements in electric field differential measurement devices and electric field detection methods. The chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor has advantages such as being free from interference from the external environment and accurate measurement data. Under the condition of achieving the same detection target, the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor composed of chip-level electric field differential measurement devices greatly reduces the number of electric field measurement devices used, reduces the complexity of the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, and ensures the accuracy of the measurement data. At the same time, the use of chip-level electric field differential measurement devices greatly reduces the requirements of the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor for the installation position, performance, power consumption, etc. of the electric field measurement device, which not only reduces the assembly complexity of the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, but also greatly improves the adaptability of the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor to the environment.

[0044] While the disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive.

[0045] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described in the various embodiments and / or claims of this disclosure may be combined and / or coupled in a variety of ways, even if such combinations or couplings are not explicitly described in this disclosure. In particular, the features described in the various embodiments and / or claims of this disclosure may be combined and / or coupled in a variety of ways without departing from the spirit and teachings of this disclosure. All such combinations and / or couplings are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure.

[0046] Although the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the appended claims but also by the equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor, characterized in that: include: N pairs of external sensing electrodes (10), N electric field differential measurement devices (20) and a signal conditioning circuit (30), N being an integer greater than or equal to 3; wherein, Each of the N pairs of external sensing electrodes (10) is used to sense an external electric field signal of one dimension; The N electric field differential measurement devices (20) are electrically connected to the N pairs of external sensing electrodes (10) in a one-to-one correspondence, and are used to perform differential processing on the external electric field signal and output a detection signal; The signal conditioning circuit (30) is connected to the N electric field differential measurement devices (20) and is used to condition the detection signal and output a three-dimensional electric field signal; Each of the N electric field differential measurement devices comprises: an electric field sensitive chip (220) disposed in a housing (210); a sealing cover plate (230) located on the housing (210) and the electric field sensitive chip (220) and used to encapsulate the electric field sensitive chip (220) in the housing (210); The electric field sensitive chip (220) is used to perform differential measurement of chip-level electric field signals, and comprises: a group of differential input terminals (221, 222) for receiving the external electric field signals acquired by a pair of external sensing electrodes (10) correspondingly connected thereto; an electric field differential chip (223) for performing differential processing on the external electric field signals and outputting a detection signal; and a detection signal output terminal for outputting the detection signal to a signal conditioning circuit (30) correspondingly connected thereto; The N electric field differential measurement devices (20) are assembled in the same plane or in a three-dimensional assembly manner, wherein when the N electric field differential measurement devices (20) are assembled in the same plane, the N electric field differential measurement devices (20) are periodically arranged in parallel on the same plane; when the N electric field differential measurement devices (20) are assembled in a three-dimensional assembly manner, each electric field differential measurement device in the N electric field differential measurement devices (20) is arranged non-coplanarly with an adjacent electric field differential measurement device.

2. The chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electric field sensitive chip (220) further includes: A plurality of bonding pads (224) are arranged on the electric field differential chip (223) and are used to weld the electric field differential chip (223) to the device pins (211) on the housing (210) via metal wires, so as to complete the electrical connection between the electric field differential chip (223) and the corresponding external sensing electrodes (10) and the signal conditioning circuit (30).

3. The chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the N external sensing electrodes (10) is one or more of a square electrode, a rectangular electrode, a diamond electrode and a circular electrode.

4. The chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sealing plate cover (230) is made of one or more of a metal material, a semiconductor material, or an insulating material with a metal layer coated on the surface.

5. The chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electric field sensitive chip (220) is manufactured using MEMS processing technology, micro-nano processing technology or precision processing technology.

6. The chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each electric field differential measurement device (20) of the N electric field differential measurement devices is connected to a pair of external sensing electrodes (10) connected thereto via a support structure (40).

7. A three-dimensional electric field measurement method based on the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: include: Placing the chip-level three-dimensional electric field sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 6 in an external electric field environment; N pairs of external sensing electrodes respectively obtain external electric field signals of different dimensions, and output them to N electric field differential measurement devices accordingly; The N electric field differential measurement devices perform differential processing on the acquired external electric field signals and output detection signals; The signal conditioning circuit performs signal conditioning on the received detection signal and outputs a three-dimensional electric field signal.

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