Measurement of Angular Velocity and Tilt Angle of Two-Dimensional Fiber-Optic Gyroscope with Sagnac Effect

Abstract

Fiber-optic gyroscope comes under the category of optical gyroscopes which works on the principle of Sagnac effect. This paper provides a crux of fiber-optic gyroscope and its working principle. Fiber-optic gyroscopes work on the principle of the Sagnac effect. In Sagnac effect, the light beam is split into two separate beams. These beams then propagate in opposite directions with respect to each other. When the setup is stationary, the beams travel in same path and reach the output without any delay, if the setup is rotating, then one beam travels less distance than the other beam, and at output these beams arrive at different time and undergo interference to produce a fringe pattern which is sensitive to the phase difference between the beams. Fiber-optic gyroscope works on the similar basis, with a difference that the beams are made to travel within an optical fiber. These beams are obtained by passing light through a coupler and launched into the fiber using a collimator. Fiber-optic gyroscope is majorly used in military and aeronautical-based applications.