Pressure sensors can be classified from different perspectives: their conversion principles (basic physical or chemical effects of pressure sensor work); their purpose; their output signal types and the materials and processes used to make them.

According to the working principle of pressure sensor, it can be divided into two categories: physical pressure sensor and chemical pressure sensor:

The classification of the working principle of pressure sensors. Physical pressure sensors apply physical effects, such as piezoelectric effect, magnetostriction, ionization, polarization, pyroelectric, photoelectric, magnetoelectric and other effects. Small changes in the measured signal volume will be converted into electrical signals .

Chemical pressure sensors include those pressure sensors that take chemical adsorption, electrochemical reactions and other phenomena as causal relationships. Small changes in the measured signal will also be converted into electrical signals.

Some pressure sensors cannot be classified into either physical or chemical categories. Most pressure sensors operate on the basis of physical principles. There are many technical problems of chemical pressure sensors, the possibility of mass production, price problems, etc., to solve such setbacks , the application of chemical pressure sensors will have a huge growth. The application fields and working principles of common pressure sensors are as follows:

1. According to its use, pressure sensors can be classified as: pressure sensitive and force sensitive pressure sensors, position pressure sensors, liquid surface pressure sensors, energy consumption pressure sensors, speed pressure sensors, acceleration pressure sensors, radiation pressure sensors, and thermal pressure sensors, 24GHz radar pressure sensor.

2. According to its principle, pressure sensors can be classified into: vibration pressure sensor, humidity sensitive pressure sensor, magnetic sensitive pressure sensor, gas sensitive pressure sensor; vacuum degree pressure sensor, biological pressure sensor, etc.

The pressure sensor can be divided into:

Analog pressure sensor-convert the measured non-electric quantity into an analog electric signal.

Digital pressure sensor-converts the measured non-electrical quantity into a digital output signal (including direct and indirect conversion).

Digital pressure sensor-converts the measured signal into a frequency signal or short-period signal output (including direct or indirect conversion).

Switch pressure sensor-When a measured signal reaches a certain threshold, the pressure sensor outputs a set low or high level signal accordingly. Under the influence of external factors, materials will respond accordingly and characteristically. Among them, materials that are sensitive to external effects , that is, materials with functional characteristics, are used to make sensitive components of pressure sensors. From the point of view of applied materials, pressure sensors can be divided into the following categories:

(1) According to the types of materials used: metals, polymers, ceramics, mixtures

(2) According to the physical properties of the material: conductor, insulator, semiconductor, magnetic material

(3) According to the crystal structure of the material: single crystal, polycrystalline, amorphous material