Transverse Magneto-Optic Error of a Miniature Solid-Core Photonic-Crystal Fiber Optic Gyroscope

Abstract

The transverse magneto-optic error is a significant nonreciprocal error of fiber optic gyroscopes, particularly for the miniature fiber optic gyroscope. In this paper, the transverse magneto-optic error of a solid-core photonic-crystal fiber optic gyroscope is theoretically analyzed and experimentally measured, as well as compared with that of the conventional fiber optic gyroscopes. The results show that the transverse magneto-optic error per turn of the miniature photonic-crystal fiber optic gyroscope is ~ 3.5 times smaller than that of the conventional fiber optic gyroscopes. A thinner $\mu $ -metal shield can be used in a miniature photonic-crystal fiber optic gyroscope, resulting in less cost and weight. Meanwhile, the experimental and the calculated results agree well with each other, which illustrates that the transverse magneto-optic error derives mainly from the bend-induced asymmetry distribution of the refractive index in fiber. Considering the remarkable properties of the solid-core photonic-crystal fibers, they are the good candidates for the future miniature fiber optic gyroscopes.

Keywords

• Gyroscopes
• optical fiber sensors
• optical fibers