Secondary-phase-modulation method for open-loop fiber-optic gyroscopes

A proposed method of secondary phase modulation for open-loop fiber-optic gyroscopes is examined in general terms. To detect the rotation rate of a system through a beat-frequency channel, we employ linearly combined signals with different frequencies for the optical phase modulation. We find that the proper combinations of the modulation frequencies can optimize the sensitivity of gyroscopes. With this method we can employ a high-frequency band for optical phase modulations while keeping relative a lower-frequency band of the detection channel. The theoretically derived result is experimentally confirmed by using a lithium-niobate (LiNbO(3)) optical phase modulator. We also discuss the combination setup with an optical integrated-circuit device and digital signal processing.