ORTHOGONAL POLARIZATION FIBER GYROSCOPE WITH INCREASED STABILITY AND RESOLUTION

The orthogonal polarization fiber gyroscope (OPEC) is an interferometr ic fiber gyroscope design that requires no phase bias in the fiber rin g and is insensitive to light-source intensity noise. However, in the original OPEC [Hitachi Rev. 33, 215 (1984)], environmental changes cau sed first-order false rotation signals. We propose and experimentally verify modifications that eliminate the first-order sensitivity to env ironmental changes and that improve the gyroscope's resolution as well . We believe that this modified OPFG is the first interferometric fibe r gyroscope capable of stable, high-sensitivity measurement that conta ins only reciprocal optical elements.