Integrated photonics optical gyroscopes optimized for autonomous vehicles

An inertial measurement unit (IMU) in an autonomous vehicle, the IMU comprising:

• a packaging substrate disposed within a housing, wherein the housing is a three-dimensional (3D) rectangular enclosed box structure with the packaging substrate mounted on a floor of the housing;
• a mechanical motion-sensing device in the form of an integrated circuit (IC) mounted on the packaging substrate and enclosed within the housing, wherein the mechanical motion-sensing device provides low-precision motion data for a plurality of axes of motion;
• a modularized integrated photonics optical gyroscope mounted on the packaging substrate and enclosed within the housing, wherein the modularized integrated photonics optical gyroscope provides high-precision rotational measurement data for an axis of motion among the plurality of axes of motion that is perpendicular to the packaging substrate, and wherein each modularized integrated photonics optical gyroscope comprises two or more rotation-sensing elements, each rotation-sensing element being coupled to a respective front-end chip, and wherein each rotation-sensing element is based on integrated photonics waveguides;
• and
• a processing device mounted on the packaging substrate and enclosed within the housing, wherein the processing device uses the low-precision motion data and the high-precision rotational measurement data to monitor whether performance of the IMU in the autonomous vehicle remains being consistent with avoiding unreasonable risk, as required for Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) certification, specifically ASIL-D certification.