Abstract
With the development of low loss single mode optical fiber waveguides, it is possible to construct a gyroscope using optical fibers. The configuration is a multi-turn Sagnac interferometer. Light from an external source is split and injected into the fiber ends, travels in clockwise and counterclockwise directions and is recombined to form interference fringes. When the coil is rotated, a phase shift is produced between the two beams causing a fringe shift ΔZ. This fringe shift is proportional to the rotation rate Ω and is given by the equation ΔZ = 4ΩċA/λC, where A is the total effective area enclosed, i.e., N times the area enclosed by a single turn of the fiber where N is the number of turns. Several models using discrete components have been constructed in our laboratory using up to 1.5 kilometers of single mode optical fiber. In measurements made to date, sufficient accuracy to detect earth rotation has not been made available. The difficulty is with the phase shift measurement which requires accurate measurement of a fringe shift of 10-4 fringes. We are investigating different forms of Sagnac interferometers to improve the accuracy. Integrated optics and modulation techniques might allow us to reach the range needed for navigation. Problems of noise peculiar to optical fibers are described.
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