Pressure sensor with improved detection accuracy and compact design

A method for operating a pressure sensor a micromechanical sensor element including at least one pressure-sensitive diaphragm which spans a cavity in a base material and includes a diaphragm electrode, a fixed counter electrode situated inside the cavity and, together with the diaphragm electrode, forms a first measuring capacitor configured to detect a first measuring pressure, and a reference capacitor situated inside the cavity and includes at least one first fixed reference electrode and at least one second fixed reference electrode, wherein the pressure sensor is operable in at least one first operating mode, in which the first measuring capacitor and the first reference capacitor are interconnected in a first bridge circuit, and the pressure sensor is operable in at least one second operating mode, in which the diaphragm electrode, the counter electrode, and the first and second fixed reference electrodes are interconnected with one another in such a way that the diaphragm electrode, together with the at least one first reference electrode, forms a second measuring capacitor configured to detect a second measuring pressure, each of the first and second operating modes of the pressure sensor being assigned to defined pressure ranges, the method comprising:

• monitoring the measuring pressure to be detected including detecting and monitoring the first measuring pressure and/or the second measuring pressure is/are detected and evaluated;
• identifying a presently preferred operating mode of the pressure sensor as a function of the evaluation of the detected measuring pressure;
• and
• switching into the presently preferred operating mode takes place when the pressure sensor is presently in a different operating mode than the preferred operating mode.