Highly sensitive differential bilayer (BL)-MoS$$_2$$ MEMS piezoresistive pressure sensor: multi-domain design and simulation with ML-based performance analysis

Abstract This paper presents the design and simulation of a MEMS piezoresistive pressure sensor integrating bilayer molybdenum disulfide (BL-MoS $$_2$$ ) as both the sensing and readout element. The BL-MoS $$_2$$ piezoresistor is placed at the high-stress rim of a circular diaphragm to maximize resistance change under pressure, followed by design and simulation of the BL-MoS $$_2$$ -FET in TCAD. A differential amplifier with BL-MoS $$_2$$ -FET as driver is designed with two BL-MoS $$_2$$ as the load resistors, out of which one varies with pressure, and the other acts as a reference resistor. The complete sensor is designed and simulated with a BL-MoS $$_2$$ element, and thereby, the differential arrangement will negate any common-mode unwanted signal. The study integrates diaphragm-level MEMS modeling, BL-MoS $$_2$$ device simulation using TCAD, circuit-level design in Cadence, and machine-learning–assisted regression to accurately capture the pressure–resistance relationship. The proposed approach demonstrates that strong material–device–circuit co-design, combined with ML-based modeling, can significantly improve prediction fidelity and overall sensor performance, suitable for next-generation piezoresistive MEMS pressure sensors. The FEM and simulation results are invoked into the Cadence Virtuoso for overall sensor system analysis through a Verilog-A-based Look-up-table approach. The sensor is designed for a pressure range of 0 to 100 kPa and offers a sensitivity of 35 mV/V without any non-linearity.