High-resolution angular and displacement sensing based on the excitation of surface plasma waves

The possibility of building angular and displacement sensors based on the phenomenon of attenuated total reflection (ATR) is explored both numerically and experimentally. ATR occurs when a surface wave is excited by an incoming TM electromagnetic wave through a resonant phase-matching process, as in the Kretschmann coupling scheme. The reflected intensity strongly depends on the angle of incidence of the beam. We first show some computations of the sensitivity and the linearity of an ATR-based sensor, then proceed to the experiment, illustrating how an angular resolution of the order of 0.1 arc sec can be obtained with moderate effort. Finally we show how the sensor, combined with a simple optical arrangement, can be used to detect and measure nanometric displacements, as those provided by piezoelectric actuators.