The Challenges and Opportunities for Performance Enhancement in Resonant Fiber Optic Gyroscopes

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Inertial Navigation Systems

Background:

• Optical gyroscopes are crucial for inertial navigation.
• Resonant fiber optic gyroscopes (RFOGs) offer an alternative to interferometric fiber optic gyroscopes (IFOGs).
• RFOGs measure rotation rate via resonant frequency shifts of counter-propagating waves.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current state of resonant fiber optic gyroscopes (RFOGs).
• To identify key challenges limiting RFOG performance, particularly bias drift.
• To explore opportunities for enhancing RFOG performance for inertial navigation.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on RFOG technology.
• Analysis of nonreciprocal effects impacting RFOG bias stability.
• Discussion of strategies for mitigating performance limitations.

Main Results:

• Significant progress in bias stability, scale factor stability, and angular random walk (ARW) has been achieved.
• Bias drift remains the primary limitation in RFOG performance.
• Nonreciprocal effects like Rayleigh backscattering and polarization instabilities contribute to bias drift.

Conclusions:

• RFOGs present a viable technology for advanced inertial navigation.
• Addressing nonreciprocal effects is critical for improving RFOG bias stability.
• Further research into performance enhancement opportunities is warranted.