Reduced minimum configuration fiber optic gyro for land navigation applications

Further cost reduction of the fiber optic gyroscope is necessary in order to meet the economic requirements of land navigation systems. We have previously concentrated on the reduction of the number of splices and component improvements in the open-loop, minimum configuration. Now we eliminate nonessential components and splices. The source-detector coupler is not part of the Sagnac interferometer and serves solely to provide isolation between the broadband optical source and the photodetector. Many commercial laser diodes incorporate a back-facet photodetector to monitor laser intensity. The signal returned from the Sagnac interferometer traverses the laser, is received at this photodetector, and can be distinguished from the laser signal by the bias modulation. Configuring a gyro in this manner eliminates a directional coupler and the separate photodetector as well as up to three fiber splices in an all-fiber gyroscope. A production, open-loop, fiber optic gyroscope has been modified to demonstrate this principal. The gyroscope can be constructed with only two fiber splices and exhibits performance comparable to the conventional minimum configuration.