Low-noise fiber-optic rotation sensing

A major source of noise in fiber-optic Sagnac interferometers was identified to be the fluctuation of the phase of Rayleigh backscattering resulting from minute temperature variations and vibration. This noise can be reduced either by introducing a phase modulation into the fiber ring or by the use of a low-coherence source. A noise-equivalent rotation rate of 8 x 10(-4) deg/sec was achieved.