Implementation of a high-resolution micro-grating accelerometer using a subdivision interpolation technique

Abstract

This paper proposes a subdivision interpolation technique for an optical accelerometer based on diffraction grating interferometry. The diffraction light intensity curve presents a sine shape with the increase of the acceleration. To address the issues of linearization signal processing across the entire range, a subdivision interpolation circuit is employed, in conjunction with a 90° phase shift and high-precision DC bias-voltage techniques, converting an analog signal with sinusoidal characteristics from the photodetector into standard incremental digital signals that vary linearly over the full range. The novel methodology, to the best of our knowledge, ensures that its performance is least affected by the phase imbalance, offset error, and amplitude mismatch induced by fabrication and alignment errors of the grating, achieving high-resolution digital signal output. The experiment results reveal that the optical accelerometer based on grating interferometry achieved a sensitivity of 85.2 V/g, a resolution of 137.6 µg, as well as a subdivision interpolation factor of 45. This work provides a significant guide for the development of high-resolution MOEMS accelerometers in practical applications.