Numerical and experimental investigation of an optical high-Q spiral resonator gyroscope

An integrated optical gyroscope based on a passive silica-on-silicon resonator with a footprint of about 20 cm² is reported in this paper. The optical characterization of the cavity has been carried out and the main experimental results are discussed. We derive the sensor performance in terms of minimum detectable angular velocity (or resolution) δΩ, underlining also the impact of the insertion loss in the silica-on-silicon device. Finally, we describe some technical approaches for improving the resolution.