An on-chip opto-mechanical accelerometer

Abstract

Optically enabled accelerometers offer superior displacement resolution and resilience to electromagnetic interference, which brought benefits to a wide range of applications ranging from inertial navigation to consumer electronics [1, 2]. However, impossible chip scale integration hampered their practical applications [2]. In this paper, a novel in-plane opto-mechanical accelerometer is demonstrated, which employs Whisper Gallery Mode (WGM) ring resonator (RR) as a displacement sensor that monolithically integrated with a nano-tethered proof mass with high mechanical Q-factor. Utilizing design optimized for strong opto-mechanical interactions allows the detection with high sensitivity of 3.279 pm/g at low-power operation.