title: Fabry-Perot optical binary switch for aircraft applications.
abstract: An optical binary switch for aircraft applications is demonstrated. A fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer (FFPI) bonded to a cantilever is used as the sensing element. A white-light interferometry system with two bulk Michelson interferometers sharing the same motor-driven translation stage is utilized to monitor the elongation of the FFPI. The system exhibits excellent linearity as a force sensor; the experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical calculated values. With a properly set threshold value, the system produces a binary output.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77843-3128, USA. zxxie@ece.tamu.edu
authors.forename: Zhaoxia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Henry F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Taylor