Chip-scale integrated optical gyroscope based on a multi-mode co-detection technique

Gyroscopes are crucial components of inertial navigation systems, with ongoing development emphasizing miniaturization and enhanced accuracy. The recent advances in chip-scale optical gyroscopes utilizing integrated optics have attracted considerable attention, demonstrating significant advantages in achieving tactical-grade accuracy. In this paper, a new, to our knowledge, integrated optical gyroscope scheme based on the multi-mode co-detection technology is proposed, which takes the high-Q microcavity as its core sensitive element and uses the multi-mode characteristics of the microcavity to achieve the measurement of rotational angular velocity. This detection scheme breaks the tradition of optical gyroscopes based on a single mode within the sensitive ring to detect the angular rotation rate, which not only greatly simplifies the optical and electrical system of the optical gyroscope, but also has a higher detection accuracy. The gyroscope based on this detection scheme has successfully detected the Earth's rotation on a 9.2 mm diameter microcavity with a bias instability as low as 1 deg/h, which is the best performance among the chip-scale integrated optical gyroscopes known to us. Moreover, its high dynamic range and highly simplified and reciprocal system architecture greatly enhance the feasibility of practical applications. It is anticipated that these developments will have a profound impact on the field of inertial navigation. (c) 2025 Chinese Laser Press