Enhanced rotation sensing by nonlinear interactions in silicon microresonators

Area of Science:

• Photonics and optical sensing
• Nonlinear optics
• Integrated photonics

Background:

• Silicon microring resonators exhibit nonlinear optical effects.
• Two-photon absorption (TPA) is a significant challenge in silicon photonics at telecom wavelengths.
• The Sagnac effect in rotating resonators splits optical mode frequencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of nonlinear Kerr index and TPA on rotating silicon microring resonators.
• To investigate the enhancement of rotation sensitivity in such devices.
• To assess the feasibility of high-precision rotation detection.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis of nonlinear Kerr effect and TPA in a rotating microring resonator.
• Modeling of counterpropagating modes and Sagnac-induced frequency splitting.
• Evaluation of rotation sensitivity enhancement and detector noise limits.

Main Results:

• Nonlinear Kerr index induces mode intensity bifurcation, enhanced by Sagnac splitting.
• Significant Kerr nonlinear enhancement of rotation sensitivity (order of 10^4) is achieved despite TPA.
• A rotation detection limit below 1 deg/h is theoretically achievable with a 1.4 mm radius resonator.

Conclusions:

• Rotating silicon microring resonators offer a promising platform for highly sensitive rotation sensing.
• The nonlinear Kerr effect significantly boosts rotation sensitivity, overcoming TPA limitations.
• The proposed system demonstrates potential for achieving unprecedented rotation detection limits.