Optoelectronic gyroscope based on a high-Q InGaAsP/InP ring resonator: Preliminary results of the system test

In the last few years the interest towards miniaturized gyroscopes for aerospace & defence applications is quickly growing. In this context the development of a photonic gyroscope-on-chip based on the InP technology, which is increasing its maturity level, seems to be very promising. After the design, fabrication, and optical characterization of an InP gyro-oriented ring resonator with a performance improving the state-of-the-art of one order of magnitude, the development activity is now focused on the sensor readout electronics and the system test. Recently a test bench including the InP cavity, a two-channels lock-in amplifier, a custom electronic board, and other optical and optoelectronic off-the-shelf components has been set up. Some preliminary results of the system test are reported in this paper. A carrier suppression which is appropriate for the backscattering noise mitigation has been achieved and the sensor functionality has been experimentally proved.