Planar silicon accelerometer with fiber optic sensing: a system-level study

This paper describes the configuration and system design of a single axis silicon micromachined fiber optic accelerometer for inertial navigation systems in spacecraft. The interferometric detection scheme employed to measure the acceleration and the design parameters to be optimized for achieving the required performance of the accelerometer are discussed. The open loop sensitivity of the accelerometer is in the order of milli-g with a dynamic range of ± 1.2 g.