Effects of gain medium parameters on the sensitivity of semiconductor ring laser gyroscope

Abstract

The semiconductor gain medium has rich non-linear dynamics and several internal parameters influence the generation and propagation of light through it. With the gain medium being an integral part of semiconductor ring laser gyroscope (SRLG) cavity, its parameters affect the overall performance of the gyro. The effect is further elevated in integrated SRLG due to stronger confinement of charge carriers and photons leading to a more intense interaction between them. In this paper, we evaluate the influence of semiconductor gain medium parameters such as gain saturation coefficient, linewidth, internal quantum efficiency etc. on the sensitivity of bulk fiber-optic SRLG. Ways of controlling these parameters and optimizing their values to enhance the performance of SRLG are also discussed.