Fabrication, characterization, and simulation of a cantilever-based airflow sensor integrated with optical fiber

In this paper, we present the fabrication and packaging of a cantilever-based airflow sensor integrated with optical fiber. The sensor consists of a micro Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity including a fiber and a micro cantilever that is fabricated using the photolithography method. Airflow causes a small deflection of the micro cantilever and changes the cavity length of the FP, which makes the fringe shift. The pressure distribution and velocity streamlines across the cantilever resulted from the airflow in the channel have been simulated by the finite element method. The experimental results demonstrate that the sensor has a linear sensitivity of 190 [fringe shift (pm)] per (l/min) and a minimum detectable airflow change of 0.05 (l/min). (c) 2013 Optical Society of America