Modeling and design of a novel miniaturized integrated optical sensor for gyroscope systems

In this paper, we report, for the first time to our knowledge, the modeling and the design of a miniaturized integrated optical sensor, based on a mul tiple quantum-well (MQW) microring laser, to be used in gyroscope systems. The device can be fully integrated on a single chip and used either in low (e.g., vehicles for land transport) or high (e.g., ships, airplanes, spaceb orne platforms) sensitivity navigation systems. The model includes the infl uence of some physical effects, such as quantum noise, lock in, thermal eff ect, and sidewall roughness-induced losses. Very good performance has been obtained in terms of gyro quantum limit, operating regions of detectable ve locity, thermal range of operation, and power consumption. The proposed arc hitecture shows significant manifold advantages with respect to other exist ing optical solutions: no polarization-induced noise, no use of frequency-l ocking techniques, negligible bending losses, high cavity quality factor, c omplete evaluation of the rotation speed, predictable thermal variation of the gyro scale factor, and very high dynamic range.