Interferometric Optical Gyroscope Based on an Integrated Si3N4 Low-Loss Waveguide Coil

Abstract

We describe the measurement and characterization of an interferometric optical gyroscope that uses an integrated 3-m large-area silicon nitride waveguide coil with waveguide loss <;0.78 dB/m that is compatible with wafer-scale integration. The angle random walk and bias instability were measured to be 8.52°/h <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1/2</sup> and 58.7°/h, respectively. The measured performance is comparable to that of a commercial rate grade gyroscope, demonstrating that chip-scale integration is a feasible path to low cost, low power, compact implementation of optical gyroscope, and realization of longer coils will expand use of this technology to more demanding navigation applications.