A New Method for Measuring Displacements of Micro Devices by an Optical Encoding System

Micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) frequently require displacement measurements with high accuracy, a high sampling rate, and a long sensing travel. However, the available methods for measuring displacements of micro devices are typically limited in terms of at least one of these figures of merit. In this paper, we present a novel implementation of an optical encoding method for measuring displacements of micro devices that provides good capabilities in all of these figures of merit. The optical encoding system combines a commercial reading apparatus with a custom-made metal grating that can be easily produced during MEMS fabrication. Experimental tests demonstrate the ability of the system to measure displacements with a resolution of 25 nm and sampling rate of 1 MHz, under a variety of displacement rate functions.