Non-Hermitian ring laser gyroscopes with enhanced Sagnac sensitivity

Mohammad P. Hokmabadi, Alexander Schumer, Demetrios N. Christodoulides and Mercedeh Khajavikhan ()
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Mohammad P. Hokmabadi: University of Central Florida
Alexander Schumer: University of Central Florida
Demetrios N. Christodoulides: University of Central Florida
Mercedeh Khajavikhan: University of Central Florida

Nature, 2019, vol. 576, issue 7785, 70-74

Abstract: Abstract Gyroscopes are essential to many diverse applications associated with navigation, positioning and inertial sensing1. In general, most optical gyroscopes rely on the Sagnac effect—a relativistically induced phase shift that scales linearly with the rotational velocity2,3. In ring laser gyroscopes (RLGs), this shift manifests as a resonance splitting in the emission spectrum, which can be detected as a beat frequency4. The need for ever more precise RLGs has fuelled research activities aimed at boosting the sensitivity of RLGs beyond the limits dictated by geometrical constraints, including attempts to use either dispersive or nonlinear effects5–8. Here we establish and experimentally demonstrate a method using non-Hermitian singularities, or exceptional points, to enhance the Sagnac scale factor9–13. By exploiting the increased rotational sensitivity of RLGs in the vicinity of an exceptional point, we enhance the resonance splitting by up to a factor of 20. Our results pave the way towards the next generation of ultrasensitive and compact RLGs and provide a practical approach for the development of other classes of integrated sensor.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1780-4

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