Resonator micro-optical gyroscope with Mach-Zehnder modulator

In the modern world there is a pronounced tendency for miniaturization. It applies to navigation systems and sensors used in them. Due to this, micromechanical gyroscopes in particular, became widespread, which made it possible to measure the angular velocity of miniature objects. But their sensitivity to accelerations and vibrations limits the range of their application. Currently, research in the direction of minimizing the size of general and precise optical gyroscopes is relevant, i.e. the development of micro-optical gyros. The most promising type of micro-optical gyro is a resonator one. Wherein the principle of operation of all prototype resonator micro-optical gyroscopes developed to date involves the scanning of a passive ring resonator in frequency. This work is devoted to a new approach to the construction and principle of operation of a resonator micro-optical gyroscope. This approach does not require scanning the passive ring resonator in frequency and is achieved through the use of a Mach-Zehnder modulator, one of whose arms is connected to a passive ring resonator. This allows to simplify the design of a micro-optical gyroscope, to obtain a mutual configuration, and to drop the tunable laser (required in most schemes) in favor of a laser with a constant generation frequency. The paper also discusses the limitations of the new approach and ways to overcome them.