Abstract

Fiber-optic gyroscopes (FOGs) have been under investigation worldwide for over fifteen years. The interferometer fiber-optic gyro (IFOG) which has received the most attention among the two most basic FOGs, has recently moved out of the purely research and development environment. Efforts now concentrate on productization of early products, environmental ruggedization, size and cost reductions, as well as further performance improvements. The resonator fiber-optic gyro (RFOG), on the other hand, is still in a purely research and development phase. RFOG development efforts, motivated by the potential for using nominally 30X less fiber to achieve comparable performance to the IFOG, are aimed at demonstrating its performance potential. Solutions to key error mechanisms such as polarization-related error mechanisms are now being demonstrated.

© 1992 Optical Society of America