Hybrid Microsensors for Displacement and Acceleration

We aim at the exploration of light transmission modulation by relatively moving apertures for novel transducers of displacement or inertia. The aperture arrangement will be illuminated by means of light emitting diodes and the transmitted flux is measured with a suitable photo detector. Both, the sending and receiving element can be attached to the aperture assembly forming a miniature, lightweight device. We aim at pushing the displacement resolution to at least 1 pm/sqrt(Hz) for 2D positioning systems utilizing Fresnel lenses in combination with circular apertures. The project tasks cover the manufacturing of these proposed devices including the development of novel processing steps, especially the precision bonding of aperture holders. Regarding device characterization, a thorough investigation of the mechanical transfer function of the microstructures is of primary interest. Furthermore, the spectral dependence of the light modulation efficiency and the impact of temporal and spatial coherence of the light source on the sensor performance will be examined in depth. ** This work is co-funded by Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and the county of Lower Austria.