Patent ID: 7435944

Claim:
An optically-powered integrated microstructure pressure sensing system for sensing pressure within a cavity, the pressure sensing system comprising: a pressure sensor, comprising: an optical resonant structure subject to the pressure within the cavity and having physical properties changing due to changing pressures within the cavity, the optical resonant structure having a cross section dimension comparable to a wavelength of a known light input, and wherein the known light input propagating inside the optical resonant structure establishes the optical resonance; a substrate supporting the optical resonant structure; an input optical pathway positioned to evanescently couple light transmitted through the input optical pathway into the optical resonant structure; and an output optical pathway positioned to collect light from the optical resonant structure; an elastic cladding material partially surrounding the optical resonant structure, the elastic cladding material positioned to transmit the pressure within the cavity to the optical resonant structure; a light source delivering the known light input into the input optical pathway whereby the known light input is evanescently coupled into the optical resonant structure by the input optical pathway and a portion of such light is collected from the optical resonant structure by the output optical pathway; a light detector receiving the portion of the light collected from the optical resonant structure by the output optical pathway, and generating a light signal indicative of such portion of the light collected from the optical resonant structure; a temperature compensation sensor generating a temperature signal indicative of the temperature near the optical resonant structure; and a spectrum detection device receiving the light signal and temperature signal, the spectrum detection device analyzing the light signal and the temperature signal with a detection algorithm for detecting refractive index changes between the elastic cladding material and the optical resonance structure and generating a pressure signal indicative of the pressure within the cavity.