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 (< 10-9 Newtons). The MEMS sensing element in this seismometer has demonstrated an optical Q-factor of 107. As a result, the instrument is capable of measuring accelerations as low as 10 nano-g. The engineering model to demonstrate the performance of the instrument has been built. Tests have demonstrated the sensitivity of the instrument. The development of the electronics is underway.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA569632
Entities
People
- Dominique Fourquette
- Greg A. Ritter
- Jason J. Meeusen
- Liane M. Larocque
- Tindaro Ioppolo
- Volkan Otugen