Progress on Integrated Optic Waveguide Devices for Fiber Gyro Applications

Abstract

It is presently widely believed that the production future of fiber optic gyros depends on the development of integrated optic circuits [1] to replace the various bulk optic components and labor intensive components presently utilized in all waveguide systems. Before this can become practical, the fabrication of low-loss integrated optical circuits and the low-loss coupling of single-mode fiber to LiNbO₃:Ti in-diffused channel waveguides are also required technologies [2] . This paper reports progress in the areas of fiber -to-chip coupling (Sections II and IV), circuit losses and device fabrication (Section II). The demonstrated fiber-to-channel waveguide coupling efficiencies and measured circuit losses due to waveauide bends and offsets are in agreement with theoretical estimates. A four-port optical switch has been pigtailed with an approach that can be extended to the coupling of fibers to numerous devices on a single chip, as will be required for gyro triads.