MEMS Fabry-Perot sensor interrogated by optical system-on-a-chip for simultaneous pressure and temperature sensing

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• MEMS sensors
• Optical instrumentation

Background:

• Accurate simultaneous pressure and temperature sensing is crucial for various applications.
• Existing methods often require bulky or complex instrumentation.
• Miniaturized sensors offer advantages in space-constrained environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel MEMS-based Fabry-Perot (FP) sensor for simultaneous pressure and temperature measurement.
• To integrate the sensor with an optical system-on-a-chip (SOC) interrogator.
• To demonstrate the sensor's performance and linear response characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a MEMS FP sensor with an air-backed silicon membrane bonded to an optical fiber.
• Design and implementation of an optical SOC interrogator comprising a broadband source, MEMS FP tunable filter, and photodetector.
• Experimental validation of simultaneous pressure and temperature sensing capabilities.

Main Results:

• The proposed sensor structure creates two cascaded FP cavities for dual-sensing.
• The optical SOC functions as a miniature spectrometer to retrieve cavity lengths.
• Experimental data show a good linear response to both pressure and temperature variations within the tested ranges.

Conclusions:

• The developed MEMS FP sensor and optical SOC enable effective simultaneous pressure and temperature sensing.
• The compact and integrated system offers a promising solution for miniaturized sensing applications.
• The sensor's linear response validates its potential for accurate real-time monitoring.