US Patent 7543501 Self-calibrating pressure sensor

The present invention is system and method for providing a self-calibrating pressure sensor. A pressure sensor apparatus comprises a diaphragm, at least one driving element operably coupled to the diaphragm configured to induce deflection in the diaphragm, and at least one strain gauge coupled to the diaphragm. The at least one strain gauge measures the deflection of the diaphragm. Typically, the driving elements will be piezoelectric drivers and will be operably coupled to the diaphragm. A method for evaluating a pressure sensor comprises inducing deflection in a diaphragm, measuring the deflection, determining the frequency-dependent response, calculating mechanical characteristics of the diaphragm from the frequency-dependent response, and calculating a response coefficient for the diaphragm based in part on said mechanical characteristics. The response coefficient is used to evaluate the sensor. The sensor can then be re-calibrated or self-calibrated based on the response coefficient.