Two‐dimensional displacement and alignment sensor based on reflection coefficients of open microstrip lines loaded with split ring resonators

Abstract

A two‐dimensional displacement and alignment sensor is proposed based on two open‐ended transmission lines, each loaded with a split ring resonator (SRR). In this arrangement, the depth of resonance‐induced notches in the reflection coefficients can be used to sense a displacement of the loading SRRs in two orthogonal directions. Since the operation principle of the sensor is based on the symmetry properties of SRR‐loaded transmission lines, the proposed sensor benefits from immunity to variations in ambient conditions. More importantly, it is shown that in contrast to previously published metamaterial‐inspired two‐dimensional displacement and alignment sensors, the proposed sensor can be operated at a single fixed frequency. The concept and simulation results are validated through measurement.