Effect of resonator losses on the sensitivity of coupled resonator optical waveguide gyroscopes

Recently there has been a growing interest in microphotonic integrated optical gyroscopes. Here, we analyze the effect of resonator losses on the rotational sensitivity of a coupled resonator optical waveguide (CROW) gyroscope in comparison to a single passive resonator gyroscope of the same size. We show that the CROW gyro offers a superior sensitivity only for very low propagation losses. Moreover, the single ring resonator gyro is found to have a sensitivity that is stable over wide range of resonator losses as well as boasting greater sensitivities than the CROW gyro for propagation losses in the resonators exceeding 10^-1 dB/cm.