Miniaturized fiber optic accelerometer incorporating liquid metal as the proof mass

Chenxing Xue, Rui Zhou, Yuanjia Xia, Wei Gao, Min Li, Hongyun Gao, Xiaoyan Wen, Haifei Lu*, Guobing Chen, Desheng Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The inertial element of a solid block is commonly used as the proof mass in traditional accelerometers. However, it is challenging to accommodate both the high-density solid-state proof mass and the highly elastic component simultaneously in a miniature sensor, which makes it difficult for the sensors to maintain comparable sensing performance at a miniaturized size. Here, a novel, to the best of our knowledge, liquid metal-based fiber optic accelerometer (LMFOA) is proposed for the first time to meet this requirement. A theoretical model for the LMFOA is introduced to illustrate its feasibility and sensing mechanism. Then, a miniature LMFOA based on a gallium-indium-tin alloy and a polymer-based flexible diaphragm is demonstrated experimentally, showing excellent consistency between the simulation and experimental results. The characteristic test results indicate that the prepared LMFOA has an acceleration sensitivity of 36.6 dB re 1 rad/g below 300 Hz, with a transverse cross talk less than -35 dB. By integrating high-density, highly fluidity liquid metal with a highly flexible diaphragm, the LMFOA shows great potential for applications requiring miniaturization.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)241-244
Number of pages4
JournalOptics Letters
Volume50
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jan 2025

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Xue, C., Zhou, R., Xia, Y., Gao, W., Li, M., Gao, H., Wen, X., Lu, H., Chen, G., & Chen, D. (2025). Miniaturized fiber optic accelerometer incorporating liquid metal as the proof mass. Optics Letters, 50(2), 241-244. https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.536982