A micromachined vibration sensor based on the control of power transmitted between optical fibres

摘要

A novel optical vibration sensor exploiting the modulation of power transmitted between optical fibres is described. The modulation is achieved by partial masking of the receiving fibre from the emitted light beam by a micromachined Si cantilever. Fabrication of the sensor comprising the cantilever as the sensor and V-grooves for passive alignment of the optical fibres is performed in one step. The use of monocrystalline Si and anisotropic etching in aqueous KOH enables simple and precise manufacturing to be carried out at low cost. In static and dynamic tests close agreement is found between the measured sensor response and the theoretical expectation based on an analytical model. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. [References: 18]