Fiber-Optic Gyroscope Development

Fiber-optic gyros offer solid-state rotation sensing capability with the intrinsic potential advantages of high reliability, small size, and low cost. A particularly attractive aspect of this technology is its potential adaptability to strapdown inertial systems, which are anticipated to be in widespread use in the future. In order to be useful in many of these applications, wide dynamic range, accurate scale factor and cold start capabilities are required. The phase-nulling concept [1,2] allows the fiber-optic gyro to meet these goals through its ability to accurately monitor fringe position. Methods that allow scale factor correction and in-flight cold-starts using this fringe-monitoring capability are described for the first time.