Optomechanical accelerometer
US9618531B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 1, 2013 |
| Grant date | Apr 11, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 24, 2034 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2201/063
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Technologies are generally described for operating and manufacturing optomechanical accelerometers. In some examples, an optomechanical accelerometer device is described that uses a cavity resonant displacement sensor based on a zipper photonic crystal nano-cavity to measure the displacement of an integrated test mass generated by acceleration applied to the chip. The cavity-resonant sensor may be fully integrated on-chip and exhibit an enhanced displacement resolution due to its strong optomechanical coupling. The accelerometer structure may be fabricated in a silicon nitride thin film and constitute a rectangular test mass flexibly suspended on high aspect ratio inorganic nitride nano-tethers under high tensile stress. By increasing the mechanical Q-factors through adjustment of tether width and tether length, the noise-equivalent acceleration (NEA) may be reduced, while maintaining a large operation bandwidth. The mechanical Q-factor may be improved with thinner (e.g., <1 micron) and longer tethers (e.g., 10-560 microns).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.