An accelerometer for spaceborne application with interferometric readout

Accelerometers for space applications are typically based on a capacitive readout. Here we present the design of an accelerometer based on a classical mass spring mechanical system with an interferometric readout. The heterodyne interferometer is completely fiber based with a 1064 nm diode laser source and has a subpicometer resolution at 1 Hz. We present and discuss the design and the characterization of the interferometer, the foreseen performances of the whole accelerometer and the characterization strategies of the same.