Miniature Fabry-Perot Interferometer

该项目将使用法布里-珀罗干涉法开发一种新颖的 角度传感器 这种方法特别有吸引力，因为 法布里-珀罗干涉仪的角灵敏度与 标准具的宽度。 因此，可以通过以下方式使其更加敏感： 加宽标准具。 例如，一个10毫米宽的标准具， 入射角每变化50微弧度的条纹 波长为0.63微米。 这种角度灵敏度可用于 为了测量引起旋转的次级现象， 和加速度。 传统的法布里-珀罗标准具是抛光的玻璃板， 平面度和平行度保持在高公差程度。 这个过程是昂贵和耗时的。 该项目将使用一个 制造法布里-珀罗标准具的另一种方法， 波导微加工技术 有明显的经济 这是该方法的优点，因为所得到的微传感器将 在大规模生产时比传统的更便宜。 这个项目 旨在确定微加工的有效性， 制造半导体微标准具的技术， 与玻璃的相似。 光刻技术将 用于限定波导结构上的标准具。 新 配置将允许波导内的传播角度 以连续地变化，使得其可以用作角度传感器。

This project will use Fabry-Perot interferometry to develop a novel angular sensor. This approach is particularly attractive because the angular sensitivity of a Fabry-Perot interferometer is proportional to the width of the etalon. Hence, it can be made more sensitive by widening the etalon. A 10 mm wide etalon, for example, yields a whole fringe for every 50 micro-radians of change in the angle of incidence at a wavelength of 0.63 micron. This angular sensitivity can be used to measure secondary phenomena that induce rotation such as vibration and acceleration. Conventional Fabry-Perot etalons are polished slabs of glass whose flatness and parallelism are maintained to a high degree of tolerance. This process is costly and time consuming. This project will use an alternative way of fabricating Fabry-Perot etalons with the use of waveguide microfabrication technology. There are distinct economic advantages to this approach because the resultant micro-sensor will be cheaper than the conventional one when mass-produced. This project aims at determining the effectiveness of the microfabrication techniques at producing semiconductor micro-etalons whose performance is comparable to that of the glass ones. Lithographic techniques will be used to define the etalons on the waveguide structure. The new configuration will allow the angle of propagation inside the waveguide to vary continuously so that it can be used as an angular sensor.