Fabrication, modelling and assessment of hybrid 1-D elastic Fabry Perot microcavity for mechanical sensing applications

1-D multilayer dielectric films consisting of seven pairs of SiO and TiO alternating layers are deposited on a SiO substrate using the radio frequency sputtering technique. The thicknesses of the film layers are chosen to reflect the visible radiation around 650 nm. An elastic microcavity layer made of Polydimethylsiloxane was sandwiched between two Bragg reflectors. A fabrication process was then developed for elastic microcavity in order to tailor the thickness, establish the surface planarity and to increase reproducibility of the samples. Optical transmittance of the single Bragg reflector and the microcavity were both simulated and measured. A comparison between measurement data and Transfer Matrix Method calculations shows a favourable correlation. Furthermore, in order to assess the suitability of the microcavity as a force sensor, transmittance measurements were carried out as a function of the applied forces. The change in the elastic microcavity thickness due to applied forces resulted in cavity resonance peak shifts proportional to the applied forces.