Direct Binary Encoding of Displacements on the Nano-Scale

We present a passive force and displacement sensor based on a compliant mechanical amplifier combined with a micromechanical analog-to-digital converter that allows to amplify and convert a displacement signal in the nanometer range directly into an electrically readable binary code without the need of electrical energy for the conversion itself. The presented compliant amplifier achieves a displacement amplification ratio of about 100 within an input range of 1.3 μm, which enables a resolution of 40 nm steps by using a 5-bit mechanical analog-to-digital converter. Furthermore, a method is proposed to implement a pre-defined transfer function into the mechanical A/D converter in order to linearize or benchmark a non-linear primary displacement signal.