Accurate mechanical–optical theoretical model of cross-axis sensitivity of an interferometric micro-optomechanical accelerometer

Abstract

An interferometric micro-optomechanical accelerometer usually has ultrahigh sensitivity and accuracy. However, cross-axis interference inevitably degrades the performance, including its detection accuracy and output signal contrast. To accurately clarify the influence of cross-axis interference, a modified mechanical–optical theoretical model is established. The rotation of the proof mass and the detected light intensity are quantitatively investigated with a load of cross-axis acceleration. A simulation and experiment are performed to verify the correctness of the theoretical model when the cross-axis acceleration is from 0 to 0.175 g. The results demonstrate that this model has a more than fivefold accuracy increase compared with conventional theoretical models when the cross-axis acceleration is from 0.06 to 0.175 g. In addition, we provide a suppression method to diminish the rotation of the proof mass based on squeeze film air damping, which significantly suppresses the contrast reduction caused by cross-axis interference.