Integrated optical circuit
US6163632A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 23, 1998 |
| Grant date | Dec 19, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 23, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F1/025
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An integrated optical circuit for use in a fibre optic gyroscope which senses rotation rates by determining a phase shift due to the Sagnac Effect between light beams travelling around an optical fibre sensing loop (4) in opposite directions, the circuit being provided on a silicon-on-insulator chip comprising a layer of silicon separated from a substrate by an insulating layer, the circuit comprising: rib waveguides (11) formed in the silicon layer for receiving light from a light source (2) and transmitting light to a light detector (3), fibre optic connectors (9) in the form of grooves etched in the silicon layer for receiving the respective ends of the optical fibre sensing loop (4); rib waveguides (11) formed in the silicon layer for transmitting light to and from said fibre optic connectors (9) so as to direct light beams in opposite directions around the sensing loop (4) and receive light beams returning therefrom, phase determining means and (13,17,31) integrated in silicon layer for determining a phase shift between the light beams returning from the sensing loop (4).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.