Nano-photonic displacement sensing mechanism

A new displacement sensing mechanism, demonstrating excellent integration capability and easy operation, is presented. It works based on a broken transmission waveguide structure, in which light from the waveguide input is transmitted to the output end via a broken segment that has an initial offset to the main waveguide axis. This segment is directly connected to the movable component under test. As a result, any movement of this component will change the offset gap accordingly. Due to the highly sensitive response of the transmission with respect to the offset gap, the information about the movement as well as its variation can be obtained in real-time by detecting the output intensity from the waveguide.