Fiber Optic Gyros

Abstract

Research and development of Fiber Optic Gyros are described.Interferometer fiber opticgyro, I-FOG for short, is now in the stage of practical applications. Car navigation system, rocket launching, gyro-compas for seeking north, and other applications have been developed. Open-loop configuration is mainly used in the above applications. On the other hand, closedloopconfiguration, which can meet the specification for high grade air craft navigation, hasalso been developed. The second type, resonator fiber optic gyro: R-FOG, is attractive becausethe length of the sensing fiber coil can be shortened to be less than 10m. Noise characterizationhas beem carried out. Fiber optic ring laser gyro, F-RLG is also promissing, inwhich Brillouin scattering in the fiber resonator produces laser oscillation. This type may havea possibility to provide quite a simple configuration.