The relative intensity noise (RIN) is a main factor that limits the detection accuracy of the high precision fiber optic gyroscope (FOG). The RIN spectrum is determined by the normalized autocorrelation of the optical spectrum of the broadband source and is intrinsically different from other fundamental noises. In this paper, we propose an all-optical technique to suppress the RIN. With the power addition of the optical waves from the signal optical path and the reference optical path, the RIN is effectively eliminated at the eigen frequency of the FOG, which is also the demodulation window for the rotation rate signal. Compared with the traditional optical configuration of the FOG, there is only one additional optical component. Experimental results show that, with this method, we can achieve a nearly 3-fold improvement in the angular random walk coefficient. The improved optical configuration for RIN suppression is simple to realize and suitable for engineering application.

Date Published: 25 October 2016
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 10158, Optical Communication, Optical Fiber Sensors, and Optical Memories for Big Data Storage, 101580L (25 October 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2246725

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10158:
Optical Communication, Optical Fiber Sensors, and Optical Memories for Big Data Storage