Optical MEMS-Based Seismometer "WHIGS"
Abstract
Low yield man-made seismic activity is difficult to detect and most often occurs in remote areas where seismic detection is weak. The Whispering Gallery mode-based seismometer (WhiGS) is an optical Micro-Electro-Mechanical System-based (MEMS) instrument. The seismometer is a three-axis instrument, is compact, has low power consumption and is capable of unattended operation. WhiGS exploits morphology-dependent optical resonance shifts in small dielectric spheres (< 1 mm in diameter). These optical resonances, called whispering gallery modes (WGM), are extremely narrow, making the transducer highly sensitive to force (< 10(exp -9) Newtons). The MEMS sensing element in this seismometer has demonstrated a Q-factor of 10(exp 7). As a result, the instrument will be capable of measuring accelerations as low as 10 nano-g. This Phase I SBIR effort entails the development of the MEMS sensing elements and the complete design of a deployable 3-axis seismometer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA516209
Entities
People
- Dominique Fourguette
- Liane M. Larocque
- M. V. Otugen
- Tindaro Ioppolo