We present a compact heterodyne laser interferometer developed for high-sensitivity displacement sensing applications. This interferometer consists of customized prisms and wave plates assembled as a quasi-monolithic unit to realize a miniaturized system. The interferometer design adopts a common-mode rejection scheme to provide a high rejection ratio to common environmental noise. Experimental tests in vacuum show a displacement sensitivity level of at and as low as above . The prototype unit is in size and weighs , allowing subsequent integration in compact systems. 
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                            Guided-mode resonances in flexible 2D terahertz photonic crystals
                        
                    
    
            In terahertz (THz) photonics, there is an ongoing effort to develop thin, compact devices such as dielectric photonic crystal (PhC) slabs with desirable light–matter interactions. However, previous works in THz PhC slabs have been limited to rigid substrates with thicknesses of micrometers. Dielectric PhC slabs have been shown to possess in-plane modes that are excited by external radiation to produce sharp guided-mode resonances with minimal absorption for applications in sensors, optics, and lasers. Here we confirm the existence of guided resonances in a membrane-type THz PhC slab with subwavelength ( ) thicknesses of flexible dielectric polyimide films. The transmittance of the guided resonances was measured for different structural parameters of the unit cell. Furthermore, we exploited the flexibility of the samples to modulate the guided modes for a bend angle of , confirmed experimentally by the suppression of these modes. The mechanical flexibility of the device allows for an additional degree of freedom in system design for high-speed communications, soft wearable photonics, and implantable medical devices. 
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                            - Award ID(s):
- 1708315
- PAR ID:
- 10160565
- Publisher / Repository:
- Optical Society of America
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Optica
- Volume:
- 7
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 2334-2536
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: Article No. 537
- Size(s):
- Article No. 537
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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