Full Stokes polarimeter for characterization of fiber optic gyroscope coils

We describe the design, construction, calibration, and validation of a Stokes vector polarimeter for investigating the polarization characteristics of fiber optic gyroscope coils. The device measures the complete Stokes vector, and reports conventional polarization properties including the Degree of Polarization (DoP), the orientation and Degree of Linear Polarization (DoLP), and the handedness and Degree of Circular Polarization (DoCP). The sensor operates at 1550 nm and employs a division of aperture optical architecture to acquire full Stokes vectors at 8 kHz while calculating polarization properties at a rate of 200 Hz. Preliminary measurements performed on both traditionally and unconventionally wound gyroscope coils are also presented.