Bidirectional dark-soliton fiber lasers for high-sensitivity gyroscopic application.

Abstract

Bidirectional mode-locked lasers are very useful in laser sensing and optical communications. Here we report a bidirectional domain wall soliton (DWS) fiber laser with an anomalous dispersion cavity. Two mode-locked dark pulse trains propagating in the opposite directions have been generated. Moreover, the specific application as a gyroscopic effect has been demonstrated by mounting this DWS laser on a rotating platform. The beat frequency of the two dark pulse DWS beams is measured as a linear function of the rotation velocity. The rotation sensitivity reaches 3.31kHz/(deg/s), which are comparable with the one in a bright pulse laser gyroscope. Without the limit of using tunable delay lines, the DWS laser gyroscope has the advantages of simple structure, high sensitivity, and low cost, while possessing the entire superiority of a mode-locked laser gyroscope. It is more promising for the applications in modern inertia navigation systems.