Rotational angle and speed detection via a chip-scale GaN optoelectronic device

Abstract

In this paper, a new method for rotational angle and speed measurements is proposed by integrating a GaN optoelectronic chip with a stepped disc. The optoelectronic chip that integrates a light-emitting diode (LED) and a photodiode (PD) is fabricated by wafer-level microfabrication. The disc is designed with a spiral staircase shape, and has increasing thickness distribution along the circumferential direction. The sensing mechanism is that the optoelectronic chip measures angle-dependent intensity change of the light reflected off the stepped disc. Through a series of performance tests, the chip is highly sensitive to a continuous rotation from 0∘ to 360∘, and produces photocurrent to indicate the rotational angle and speed. A rotational speed up to 5000 rpm is measured with a relative error less than 1.27%. The developed sensing architecture provides an alternative solution for constructing a low-cost, miniaturized, and high-efficiency rotational angle and speed sensing system.