Planar glass waveguide ring resonators with gain.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Optical Sensing
• Inertial Navigation

Background:

• Spontaneous emission noise limits the frequency resolution of active waveguide ring resonator spectrometers.
• This noise impacts the performance of active ring resonator gyroscopes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To derive a closed-form expression for the frequency resolution limit.
• To determine the minimum achievable angular rotation rate random walk error for active ring resonator gyroscopes.
• To demonstrate a low-loss active waveguide ring resonator.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of a closed-form expression for frequency resolution.
• Experimental demonstration of an active waveguide ring resonator in neodymium-doped glass.
• Laser diode pumping and characterization of resonator finesse and propagation loss.

Main Results:

• A closed-form expression for frequency resolution was derived.
• The minimum rms angular rotation rate random walk error was determined.
• A finesse of 250 was achieved at 1060 nm in a 1.6 cm diameter ring.
• An effective propagation loss of ~0.013 dB/cm was measured, the lowest reported for this ring size.

Conclusions:

• The derived resolution limit provides a benchmark for spectrometer and gyroscope design.
• The demonstrated low-loss resonator is a significant advancement for optical gyroscopes.
• Further improvements in finesse and reduced loss are key for enhanced gyroscope performance.