Elastomeric binary phase gratings for measuring acceleration, displacement, strain, and stress

This article describes the fabrication and operating principles of a device suitable for measuring displacements, stresses, strains, accelerations, and forces. The device consists of an elastomeric material with a surface relief diffraction grating embossed on its surface. Mechanical compression of this element changes the way that it diffracts light. This article also describes designs and performance characteristics of simple accelerometers and pressure sensors based on these devices.