Gyroscopes are important for inertial navigation when satellite signals are weak, blocked, or unavailable. Traditional fibre-optic gyroscopes (FOGs) provide accurate motion sensing, but they are often large, expensive, and difficult to produce at scale. Smaller, more affordable gyroscopes are needed for critical applications where size and cost are constrained.

OSCPS Motion Sensing Inc. (d.b.a. OSCP) is developing a chip-based photonic gyroscope to make this technology more compact and practical. Its gyroscope uses a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chip to measure rotation while reducing size, weight, power use, and cost (SWaP-C).

This project will improve both PIC chip performance and manufacturing reliability. Earlier PIC chip production runs showed issues including signal loss, chip-to-fibre connection losses, surface roughness, dicing quality, defects, and variation from one run to the next.

The team will test targeted process changes and measure which steps improve the chips. This work will help connect manufacturing choices with improved loss performance, stronger coupling, cleaner chip edges, higher yield, and more consistent results.

Montréal-based OSCP will lead the project. It will set product requirements, finalize PIC chip layouts and test structures, define performance targets, analyze results, and integrate improved PIC chips into its gyroscope and inertial measurement unit (IMU) roadmap.

Bromont-based C2MI will lead PIC chip fabrication process development, metrology, packaging, and finishing activities. The teams will refine key production steps, fabricate representative lots, package selected chips, and complete inspection, testing, characterization, and yield assessment.

This project is expected to advance a repeatable Canadian fabrication process for low-loss silicon nitride photonic chips from TRL 4 to TRL 7. C2MI will retain the refined process as a reusable Canadian fabrication capability for other Canadian users. OSCP will receive engineering samples of improved Sagnac Sensor PIC chips suitable for prototype integration and commercialization planning.