SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RESONATOR FIBER OPTIC GYROSCOPE INTENSITY MODULATION CONTROL

• US 20100253948A1
• Filed: 03/23/2010
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Strandjord, Lee K., Sanders, Glen A., Tarleton, Norman Gerard
• Granted Patent: US 8,294,900 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/464
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/727 using a passive ring resonator

Abstract

Systems and methods for improved resonator fiber optic gyroscope intensity modulation control are provided. In one embodiment, a resonant fiber optic gyroscope (RFOG) having a residual intensity modulation (RIM) controller comprises: an intensity modulator optically coupled to receive a light beam from a laser source modulated at a resonance detection modulation frequency; an optical tap device optically coupled to the intensity modulator; and a feedback servo coupled to the optical tap device and the intensity modulator, the demodulating feedback servo generating a sinusoidal feedback signal to the intensity modulator. The feedback servo adjusts an amplitude and phase of the sinusoidal feedback signal provided to intensity modulator based on a residual intensity modulation detected by the demodulating feedback servo.

Claims

1. A resonant fiber optic gyroscope (RFOG) having a residual intensity modulation (RIM) controller, the controller comprising:

an intensity modulator optically coupled to receive a light beam from a laser source modulated at a resonance detection modulation frequency;

an optical tap device optically coupled to the intensity modulator; and

a feedback servo coupled to the optical tap device and the intensity modulator, the demodulating feedback servo generating a sinusoidal feedback signal to the intensity modulator;

wherein the feedback servo adjusts an amplitude and phase of the sinusoidal feedback signal provided to intensity modulator based on a residual intensity modulation detected by the demodulating feedback servo.

2. The controller of claim 1, wherein the intensity modulator applies a modulation to the light beam to cancel at least part of the residual intensity modulation based on the sinusoidal feedback signal.

3. The controller of claim 1, wherein the sinusoidal feedback signal has a frequency at the resonance detection modulation frequency.

4. The controller of claim 1, further comprising an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the optical tap device;

wherein the analog-to-digital converter generates digital samples of the light beam as received at the optical tap device, wherein the digital samples are provided to the feedback servo.

5. The controller of claim 1, wherein the feedback servo comprises:

an in-phase demodulator that demodulates the digital samples using a first reference frequency at the resonance detection modulation frequency to produce a first error signal that represents an in-phase component of the intensity modulation;

a quadrature-phase demodulator that demodulates the digital samples using a second reference frequency at the resonance detection modulation frequency to produce a second error signal that represents a quadrature-phase component of the intensity modulation, wherein the second reference frequency is 90 degrees out of phase from the first reference frequency;

wherein the demodulating feedback servo adjusts the amplitude and phase of the sinusoidal feedback signal based on driving both the first error signal and the second error signal to zero.

6. The controller of claim 5, further comprising a summing amplifier;

wherein the feedback servo generates a first analog error signal based on multiplying the first reference frequency by the first error signal;

wherein the feedback servo generates a second analog error signal based on multiplying the second reference frequency by the second error signal; and

wherein the summing amplifier sums the first analog error signal with the second analog error signal to produce the sinusoidal feedback signal.

7. The controller of claim 5, the feedback servo further comprising:

a first accumulator coupled to the in-phase demodulator, wherein the first accumulator integrates an output of the of the in-phase demodulator to produce the first error signal; and

a second accumulator coupled to the quadrature-phase demodulator, wherein the second accumulator integrates an output of the quadrature-phase demodulator to produce the second error signal.

8. A residual intensity modulation (RIM) servo device for a resonant fiber optic gyroscope (RFOG), the device comprising:

a first control loop comprising an in-phase demodulator that receives digital data samples of a light beam, the first control loop generating a first error signal that is a function of an in-phase component of residual intensity modulation in the light beam;

a second control loop comprising a quadrature-phase demodulator that receives the digital data samples of the light beam, the second control loop generating a second error signal that is a function of a quadrature-phase component of residual intensity modulation in the light beam;

an amplifier coupled to the first control loop and the second control loop, the amplifier generating a sinusoidal feedback signal that drives an intensity modulator that modulates the light beam, wherein the amplitude and phase of the sinusoidal feedback signal are controlled with the first error signal and the second error signal.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the amplitude and phase of the sinusoidal feedback signal adjust the intensity modulator to drive both the first error signal and the second error signal to zero.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the intensity modulator applies a modulation to the light beam to cancel at least part of the residual intensity modulation based on the sinusoidal feedback signal.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein the sinusoidal feedback signal has a frequency at the resonance detection modulation frequency.

12. The device of claim 8, wherein the first control loop further comprises a first accumulator coupled to the in-phase demodulator, wherein the first accumulator integrates an output of the in-phase demodulator to produce the first error signal;

and

wherein the second control loop further comprises a second accumulator coupled to the quadrature-phase demodulator, wherein the second accumulator integrates an output of the quadrature-phase demodulator to produce the second error signal.

13. The device of claim 8, further comprising:

an analog-to-digital converter coupled to an optical tap device receiving the light beam;

wherein the analog-to-digital converter generates the digital samples of the light beam, wherein the digital samples are provided to the a first control loop and the second control loop.

14. The device of claim 8, further comprising:

a first signal generator that produces a first reference signal at an operating modulation frequency of the RFOG, wherein the in-phase demodulator demodulates the digital data samples using the first reference signal; and

a second signal generator that produces a second reference signal at an operating modulation frequency of the RFOG, wherein the quadrature-phase demodulator demodulates the digital data samples using the second reference signal, and wherein the first reference signal and the second reference signal are out of phase by 90 degrees.

15. The device of claim 8, further comprising:

a tap device optically coupled to the intensity modulator, wherein the tap device provides a signal representing the light beam to the first control loop and the second control loop.

16. A method for controlling intensity modulation in a resonating fiber optic gyroscope (RFOG), the method comprising:

generating in-phase intensity modulation error signal by demodulating digital samples of a light beam using a first sinusoidal reference generated at a resonance detection modulation frequency;

generating quadrature-phase intensity modulation error signal by demodulating digital samples of the light beam using a second sinusoidal reference generated at the resonance detection modulation frequency, wherein the second sinusoidal reference is out- of-phase from the first sinusoidal reference by 90 degrees;

producing a sinusoidal feedback control signal from the in-phase intensity modulation error signal and the quadrature-phase intensity modulation error signal; and

driving an intensity modulator with the sinusoidal feedback control signal, wherein the intensity modulator cancels residual intensity modulation from the light beam.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein producing the sinusoidal feedback control signal further comprises adjusting an amplitude and phase of the sinusoidal feedback signal to drive the in-phase intensity modulation error signal and the quadrature-phase intensity modulation error signal to zero.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

generating a first control signal that is a function of the first sinusoidal reference multiplied by the in-phase intensity modulation error signal;

generating a second control signal that is a function of the second sinusoidal reference multiplied by the quadrature-phase intensity modulation error signal;

producing the sinusoidal feedback control signal by summing the first control signal and the second control signal.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

generating digital samples of the light beam at a tap device that receives the light beam from the intensity modulator.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the first error signal is proportional to an in-phase component of the residual intensity modulation;

and

wherein the second error signal is proportional to a quadrature-phase component of the residual intensity modulation.