Multiple Optical Compensation in Interferometric Fiber-Optic Gyroscope for Polarization Nonreciprocal Error Suppression

Polarization nonreciprocal (PN) errors within a novel interferometric fiber-optic gyroscope (IFOG) configuration are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Different from those conventional IFOGs, here, two orthogonal polarizations coexist, and light can travel through multiple paths. The PN errors of individual paths possess opposite signs and, thus, can be effectively canceled out through a multiple optical compensation process. As experimentally demonstrated, the long-term stability of IFOG has been remarkably improved. From the perspective of optical compensation, the concept of “reciprocity” can be understood in a more generalized way.