System and method of stabilizing the scale factor shift in fiber optic gyroscopes using a spectral monitor array
First Claim
1. A system for stabilizing the scale factor of a broadband light source used in fiber optic rotation sensors, comprising:
- a broadband light source which emits a broadband optical signal;
a fiber optic rotation sensor arranged to receive the optical signal from the broadband light source;
the fiber optic rotation sensor including a detector which measures the rotation of the rotation sensor by processing the optical signal and analyzing a scale factor of the optical signal;
a primary bandpass filter connected in the propagation path of the optical signal between the broadband light source and the fiber optic rotation sensor, the primary bandpass filter narrowing the spectral width of the optical signal to a bandpass of the primary bandpass filter; and
a spectral monitor array connected to receive at least a portion of the optical signal processed by the fiber optic rotation sensor, wherein the spectral monitor array monitors the spectrum of the optical signal to determine whether a shift in the scale factor of the optical signal has occurred,wherein the measured rotation of the rotation sensor is corrected in accordance with the scale factor shift determined by the spectral monitor array.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for providing scale factor stabilization of a broadband light source used in fiber optic gyroscopes is provided. A primary bandpass filter is positioned in the propagation path of the light emitted by the broadband light source to narrow the spectral width of the optical signal transmitted to the fiber optic gyroscope, which reduces the centroid wavelength shift resulting when the broadband light source is exposed to ionizing radiation and other harsh environmental conditions. The filtered optical signal is then passed through the fiber optic gyroscope, where the filter optical signal is processed to measure the amount of rotation of the fiber optic gyroscope. The scale factor stabilization system further includes the spectral monitor array arranged to perform direct optical wavelength measurements of the filtered optical signal to determine whether a scale factor shift in the optical signal has occurred. When a scale factor shift is detected, the detected scale factor shift is used in a compensation algorithm to correct the scale factor of the optical signal. By monitoring the scale factor shift and adjusting the values measured by the fiber optic gyroscope in accordance with the detected scale factor shift, the accuracy of the fiber optic gyro can be improved to a fraction of a part-per-million.
26 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for stabilizing the scale factor of a broadband light source used in fiber optic rotation sensors, comprising:
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a broadband light source which emits a broadband optical signal; a fiber optic rotation sensor arranged to receive the optical signal from the broadband light source;
the fiber optic rotation sensor including a detector which measures the rotation of the rotation sensor by processing the optical signal and analyzing a scale factor of the optical signal;a primary bandpass filter connected in the propagation path of the optical signal between the broadband light source and the fiber optic rotation sensor, the primary bandpass filter narrowing the spectral width of the optical signal to a bandpass of the primary bandpass filter; and a spectral monitor array connected to receive at least a portion of the optical signal processed by the fiber optic rotation sensor, wherein the spectral monitor array monitors the spectrum of the optical signal to determine whether a shift in the scale factor of the optical signal has occurred, wherein the measured rotation of the rotation sensor is corrected in accordance with the scale factor shift determined by the spectral monitor array. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for stabilizing the scale factor of a broadband optical fiber source used in fiber optic rotation sensors, comprising the steps of:
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providing a broadband optical signal from a broadband light source; passing the broadband light signal through a primary bandpass filter to narrow the spectral width of the broadband optical signal; outputting the filtered optical signal to a fiber optic rotation sensor; processing the optical signal in the fiber optic rotation sensor to measure the amount of rotation of the fiber optic rotation sensor; passing the processed optical signal through a spectral monitor array where the processed optical signal is analyzed to determine whether a scale factor shift has developed in the optical signal; and correcting the measured amount of rotation of the fiber optic rotation sensor in accordance with the determined scale factor shift. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification