Performance comparison of various low-cost multimode fiber optic rotation rate sensor designs

Abstract

Results are presented from a comparison of the performance of various multimode fiber optic rotation sensor designs. The data include optical bias, PZT polarization modulation bias, and photomixing signal contrast data as a function of fiber core diameter, index profile, and LED operating wavelength, for 50-, 100-, and 200-micron core diameters, step and graded index profiles, and 0.85- and 1.3-micron wavelengths. It was found that optimal operation at the shorter wavelength lies between the 50- and 100-micron core size and near 100 microns at the longer wavelength. Step index profiles yielded considerably less bias than did the graded index profiles.