Silica waveguide ring resonators with multi-turn structure

Optical waveguide ring resonator is the basic element of resonator integrated optic gyro (RIOG). In this paper, we report a novel configuration of optical waveguide ring resonator using a multi-turn structure. The characteristic of the light propagating across the crossed waveguides is analyzed using the finite difference beam propagation method. The relationship between the propagation loss and the intersection angle for arbitrary intersecting angles has been analyzed. Some crossed waveguides are fabricated in silica waveguides to verify the theoretical results. On this basis, the influences of the loop numbers and the excess loss of the crossed waveguide on the limited sensitivity of the RIOG have been analyzed. There is a critical intersection angle for certain resonator, only when the intersection angle is bigger than the critical angle, the gyro sensitivity can be improved by increasing the loop numbers. This will be helpful to how to determine the optimum length in resonator for its application in RIOG. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.