Fiber optic gyro with low-birefringence and PM networks

摘要

A fiber optic gyroscope is formed of two distinct sections, one having optical paths of low-birefringence fiber and the other having paths formed of polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber. The two sections are joined at a low-birefringence-PM fiber splice. The PM section includes at least one MIOC and an associated rotation sensing coil of PM fiber while the low-birefringence section includes the optical source, and associated couplers and detectors. The arrangement minimizes polarization fading and polarization non-reciprocity (PNR) bias error while allowing maximum use of lower cost and, in many cases, more durable, components to minimize overall system cost without loss of performance.