Reliable and integrated technique for determining resonant frequency in radio frequency resonators. Application to a high-precision resonant cavity-based displacement sensor.

This paper presents a reliable and integrated technique for determining the resonant frequency of radio frequency resonators, which can be of interest for different purposes. The approach uses a heterodyne scheme as phase detector coupled to a voltage-controlled oscillator. The system seeks the oscillator frequency that produces a phase null in the resonator, which corresponds to the resonant frequency. A complete explanation of the technique to determine the resonant frequency is presented and experimentally tested. The method has been applied to a high-precision displacement sensor based on resonant cavity, obtaining a theoretical nanometric precision.

A novel micro- and nano-scale positioning sensor based on radio frequency resonant cavities.

In many micro- and nano-scale technological applications high sensitivity displacement sensors are needed, especially in ultraprecision metrology and manufacturing. In this work a new way of sensing displacement based on radio frequency resonant cavities is presented and experimentally demonstrated using a first laboratory prototype. The principle of operation of the new transducer is summarized and tested. Furthermore, an electronic interface that can be used together with the displacement transducer is designed and proved. It has been experimentally demonstrated that very high and linear sensitivity characteristic curves, in the range of some kHz/nm; are easily obtainable using this kind of transducer when it is combined with a laboratory network analyzer. In order to replace a network analyzer and provide a more affordable, self-contained, compact solution, an electronic interface has been designed, preserving as much as possible the excellent performance of the transducer, and turning it into a true standalone positioning sensor. The results obtained using the transducer together with a first prototype of the electronic interface built with cheap discrete elements show that positioning accuracies in the micrometer range are obtainable using this cost-effective solution. Better accuracies would also be attainable but using more involved and costly electronics interfaces.