Design and simulation of pressuresensor and accelerometer based on integrated optical circuits using photoelastic effect of LiNbO3

Abstract In this paper a novel optical pressure and acceleration sensor based on micro electro mechanical systems (MEOMS) has been designed. For this purpose an integrated MachZander interferometer has been used in LiNbO3 diaphragm. In this sensor, the strain caused by applied pressure or acceleration leads to a change in refractive index of the wave guide in the diaphragm due to the photoelastic effect. The refractive index change leads to a phase change in the light wave that propagates in the waveguide. This phase change is converted to intensity change using the MachZander interferometer. The software ANSYS 14.5 was used for calculation of the strain in the diaphragm .The pressure and acceleration sensitivity of the designed sensor have been obtained 2.33×10-4 (rad /Pa) and 2.16×10-5 (rad.s2/m), respectively.