Abstract

A small displacement sensor for dynamically measuring small forces is presented. Employing a coupled-cavity laser configuration constructed with a moving external mirror, this sensor provides high sensitivity with a minimum detectable displacement of 0.8 nm, independently of the lasing wavelength, while the lasing state is mechanically stabilized by a negative-feedback loop to maintain a constant external-cavity length. The sensor is shown to be of great use for detecting extremely small distortions in a stiff cantilever, reflecting transient variations in small friction forces in mechanical systems.

© 1998 Optical Society of America

Wide cantilever stiffness range cavity optomechanical sensors for atomic force microscopy

Yuxiang Liu, Houxun Miao, Vladimir Aksyuk, and Kartik Srinivasan
Opt. Express 20(16) 18268-18280 (2012)

Laser displacement sensor with application to gravitational radiation detection

M. Weksler, Z. Vager, and G. Neumann
Appl. Opt. 19(16) 2717-2725 (1980)

Displacement measurement using a laser feedback grating interferometer

Dongmei Guo, Ming Wang, and Hui Hao
Appl. Opt. 54(31) 9320-9325 (2015)

Laser diode feedback interferometer for stabilization and displacement measurements

Toshihiko Yoshino, M. Nara, Sergay Mnatzakanian, Byron S. Lee, and Timothy C. Strand
Appl. Opt. 26(5) 892-897 (1987)

Optical nanomechanical sensor using a silicon photonic crystal cantilever embedded with a nanocavity resonator

Chengkuo Lee and Jayaraj Thillaigovindan
Appl. Opt. 48(10) 1797-1803 (2009)