Fiber Optic Gyroscopes

by Sean Moultrie
Gyroscopes

Heart of Guidance, Control, and

Navigation Systems
Desired Properties
low cost
high precision
high reliability
low maintenance
long life spans
Gyroscopes

Mechanical
Ring Laser
assumed active
Fiber Optic
assumed passive
Active vs Passive

Laser

Laser
Active Passive
Mechanical Gyroscopes
Discovered 1817
Earths Rotation
1852
electric motors
1860s
Gyroscopic Inertia
conversation of
angular momentum
Newtons first law
Mechanical Gyroscopes

Measurements
rotating disk provides reference plane
Mechanical Gyroscope Drawbacks

Precision Moving Parts

friction
limited life span
cost
environment restrictions
Mature Technology
Physical Optics

TEM Wave
Interference
In Phase Out of Phase
Ring Laser Gyroscopes

Square or Triangle Cavity

Standing Wave Laser
Doppler Effect
(due to active construction)
Ring Laser

Unique
multiple of OPL
Standing Wave
Produced
Ring Laser Gyroscope

Doppler Effect
red & blue shift
Output is
Interfered
Ring Laser Gyroscope

Interference
beating chrono (not spatial)
interference pattern
Period Angular Velocity
Beating

example #1
110Hz Magenta
104Hz Cyan

chrono
Interference
Ring Laser Gyroscope Drawbacks

Lock In
desire to be monochromatic
Dither
Fiber Optic Gyroscopes

History
Sagnac Interferometry
Sagnac Effect
Optical Fiber Waveguide
fiber optic theory
Sources of Error
Biasing
History

Sagnac 1913
Michelson & Gale 1925
Laser 1961
mode locking
cavity
Macek & Davis - 1962
Ring Laser
Vali & Shorhill FOG - 1976
Sagnac Interferometer
Sagnac Interferometry

High Resolution
Phase Difference
Rotation
Sagnac Effect

Horses on Rotating Track

Race Track Race Track

Sagnac Effect

Birds Flying Over Rotating Track

Race Track Race Track

Sagnac Interferometer
Sagnac Effect

Assume Circular Cavity

= 2R/c
= propagation time & R = cavity radius
= (2+)(R/c) - (2-)(R/c)
= rotation per
= 4R2/c2
for , = = 4R2/c2
Fresnel-Fizeau Drag Effect
Fiber Optics

Cylindrical
Dielectric
Waveguide
Fiber Optics
Snells Law

n1sin(1) = n2sin(2)
Critical Angle

n1sin(1) = n2sin(2)
set 2 = 90o
divide by n1
sin(1) = n2/n1
1 = arcsin(n2/n1) = c
Total Internal Reflection

For 1 c
c = arcsin(n2/n1)
there can be no refraction
all light is reflected
n2 < n1
c increases as n2/n1 decreases
Fiber Optics
Optical Fiber as Medium

Closed Cavity Defined by Optical

Fiber
Optical Fiber as Medium

Stable Alignment
Coiling
increased sensitivity
smaller dimensions
Advantages of Coiling Fiber

= 2LD/c
L = length of fiber
D = diameter of coil

= angular rotation

= vacuum wavelength

c = speed of light

= 8AN/c
A = are enclosed by coil
N = number of coils
Sources of Error

Polarization
Backscattering
Faraday Effect
Polarization

Two Degenerate Modes

Not Ideal
random birefringence
Stress
additional birefringence
Unequal Propagation Constants
Polarization

100s of Radians Error

Polarizer
input
output
Backscattering

Rayleigh
-4
Interfaces
normal: (n1-n2)2/(n1+n2)2
Crosstalk

Short Coherence Source

Faraday Effect

Magnetic Interference
rotation of polarization state

Untwisted Polarization-Maintaining
Fiber
Nonlinear Kerr Effect

Optical Induced Electric Field

n local irradiance

Source
broad-band
low-coherence
unpolarized
Biasing

Calibrated for Maximum Change in

Intensity vs Rotation Rate
Conclusion

Easy to Fabricate
Stable
No Moving Parts
Small Dimensions
High Sensitivity
References
Sabina Merlo, Michele Norgia, and Silvano Donati, Fiber
Gyroscope Principles, Handbook of Fibre Optic
Sensing Technology, 2000 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Ralph A. Bergh, H. C. Lefevre, and Herbert J. Shaw, An
Overview of Fiber-Optic Gyroscopes, Journal of
Lightwave Technology, Vol. Lt-2, No. 2, April 1984.
E. J. Post, Sagnac Effect, Reviews of Modern Physics,
Volume 39, Number 2, April 1967.
Jia-Ming Liu. Photonic Devices. Cambridge University
Press, New York 2005.
Bahaa E. A. Saleh & Malvin Carl Teich, Fundamentals of
Photonics. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, 1991.
Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page