Recent research has indicated that broadband fiber sources are a viable alternative to superluminescent diodes for fiber-optic gyro applications. The key issues in using such sources are possible source configurations, the effects of feedback, source power output, and the stability of such sources in the gyro system. Both Nd:silica and Er:silica sources are discussed with an emphasis on superfluorescent fiber sources pumped by laser diodes. In both media, 100 mW of pump power can produce more than 10 mW of source power with a spectral width in excess of 10 nm. Furthermore, such sources have consistently produced mean wavelength thermal coefficients of less than 10 ppm/C.

Date Published: 1 February 1992
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 1585, Fiber Optic Gyros: 15th Anniversary Conf, (1 February 1992); doi: 10.1117/12.135068

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1585:
Fiber Optic Gyros: 15th Anniversary Conf
Shaoul Ezekiel; Eric Udd, Editor(s)