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Open AccessArticle

A High-Extinction-Ratio Resonator for Suppressing Polarization Noise in Hollow-Core Photonic-Crystal Fiber Optic Gyro

by Weiqi Miao, Huachuan Zhao, Fei Yu and Lingyu Li

Photonics 2025, 12(11), 1126; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12111126 - 14 Nov 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 928

Polarization-induced noise remains a primary source of bias drift, fundamentally limiting the performance of hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber optic gyroscopes (HC-RFOGs). To overcome this limitation, we propose and demonstrate a novel resonator design with an intrinsically high polarization extinction ratio (PER). The resonator’s core innovation is a four-port coupler architecture that strategically integrates a pair of polarization beam splitters (PBSs) with conventional beam splitters (BSs). This configuration functions as a high-fidelity polarization filter, suppressing undesired polarization states for both clockwise and counter-clockwise propagating light within the hollow-core fiber loop. Our theoretical model predicts that the effective in-resonator PER can exceed 48 dB, which is sufficient to mitigate polarization-related errors for tactical-grade applications. Experimental validation of a prototype HC-RFOG incorporating this resonator yields a bias instability of 1.34°/h and an angle random walk (ARW) of

0.078 ° / \sqrt{h}

(with a 200 s averaging time). These results confirm that engineering a high-polarization-extinction-ratio resonator (HPERR) is a potent and direct pathway to substantially reducing polarization noise and advancing the performance of HC-RFOGs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Fiber Sensors: Design and Application)

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16 pages, 2772 KB

Open AccessArticle

Double Demodulation Incorporates Reciprocal Modulation and Residual Amplitude Modulation Feedback to Enhance the Bias Performance of RFOG

by Zhijie Yang, Xiaolong Yan, Guoguang Chen and Xiaoli Tian

Photonics 2025, 12(8), 792; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12080792 - 5 Aug 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1737

Abstract

The suppression of Rayleigh backscattering noise in a resonant fiber optic gyro (RFOG) is accompanied by the emergence of residual amplitude modulation (RAM) effects, which impact the bias performance of the RFOG output. In this paper, we propose a double demodulation technique that integrates reciprocal modulation and RAM feedback. By utilizing reciprocal modulation–demodulation along with a RAM feedback control method, we effectively suppress both RAM and laser frequency noise. Furthermore, the inherent suppression characteristics of the double modulation–demodulation scheme facilitate effective backscatter noise reduction. As a result, the gyro angular random walk of the RFOG has improved to

3^{°} / \sqrt{h}

, and the long-term bias instability has been enhanced to 0.1°/h over a test duration of 10 h. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Optical Fiber Sensors and Sensing Techniques)

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10 pages, 7179 KB

Open AccessArticle

Realization of Hollow-Core Photonic-Crystal Fiber Optic Gyro Based on Low-Noise Multi-Frequency Lasers with Intermediate-Frequency Difference

by Hongchen Jiao, Lishuang Feng, Qingjun Zhang, Jie Liu, Tao Wang, Ning Liu, Chunqi Zhang, Xindong Cui and Xiaoning Ji

Sensors 2020, 20(10), 2835; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20102835 - 16 May 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3458

Abstract

Mainly focusing on the demand for a novel resonator optic gyro based on a hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber (HC-RFOG), we achieve a multi-frequency lasers generation with low relative phase noise via an acousto-optic modulation of light from a single laser diode. We design a homologous heterodyne digital optical phase-locked loop (HHD-OPLL), based on which we realize the low-noise multi-frequency lasers (LNMFLs) with an intermediate frequency difference. The noise between the lasers with a 20 MHz difference is 0.036 Hz, within the bandwidth of 10 Hz, in a tuning range of 120 kHz, approximately 40 dB lower than that produced without the HHD-OPLL. Finally, based on the LNMFLs, an HC-RFOG is realized and a bias stability of 5.8 °/h is successfully demonstrated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Fiber Sensors and Photonic Devices)

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17 pages, 4688 KB

Open AccessArticle

Asymmetry Analysis of the Resonance Curve in Resonant Integrated Optical Gyroscopes

by Yu Ming He, Fu Hua Yang, Wei Yan, Wei Hua Han and Zhao Feng Li

Sensors 2019, 19(15), 3305; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19153305 - 27 Jul 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4719

Abstract

The Resonant Integrated Optic Gyroscope (RIOG) is a type of high accuracy gyroscope based on the Sagnac effect. A symmetrical resonance curve is very important to the performance of the RIOG. To further investigate and design a RIOG with a waveguide ring resonator, an in-depth research of the asymmetric resonance curve and its influence on the RIOG is fully developed. Four possible optical noises inducing the resonance curve asymmetry are analyzed and their mathematic models are established. These four optical noises are the normal mode effect, the backscattering noise, the backreflection noise and the polarization noise. Any asymmetry of the resonance curve will not only induce a large output bias error into the gyro output, but also seriously decrease the frequency discrimination parameter of the demodulation curve. By using a tunable fiber laser, the high aspect ratio silicon nitride WRR and the silicon dioxide WRR were tested. The experiment measured resonance curves can be well fitted with the theoretical simulation results. The experimental results show that a high aspect ratio silicon nitride waveguide can effectively suppress the polarization noise in the RIOG. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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13 pages, 2115 KB

Open AccessArticle

Temperature Stability of a Hybrid Polarization-Maintaining Photonic Crystal Fiber Resonator and Its Application in a Resonant Fiber Optic Gyro

by Nie He, Zhuoyan Li, Gongshen Zhang, An’an Liu, Ding Zhou, Peng Chen, Chengxiang Liu and Xu Wu

Sensors 2018, 18(8), 2506; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18082506 - 1 Aug 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4759

Abstract

A fiber ring resonator (FRR) constructed using a Panda polarization-maintaining fiber does not effectively solve the problem of temperature-related polarization fluctuation, which considerably limits the detection accuracy of the resonant fiber optic gyro. The polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PM-PCF) can improve the thermal stability of the FRR. In this study, a structure that can simultaneously detect the polarization fluctuation of two FRRs is designed. We analyzed and verified the polarization phase shift errors of these two types of fibers, which are caused by the thermally induced birefringence changes. Theoretical simulation and experimental results confirm that a PM-PCF can be used to optimize the FRR, which can effectively suppress the polarization fluctuation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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11 pages, 3521 KB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Resonance Asymmetry Phenomenon in Resonant Fiber Optic Gyro

by Zhuoyan Li, Nie He, Xuqiang Sun, Chao Jin, Chengxiang Liu and Xu Wu

Sensors 2018, 18(3), 696; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18030696 - 26 Feb 2018

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4805

Abstract

This experiment demonstrated the resonance asymmetry phenomenon in the resonant fiber optic gyro. The asymmetry of resonant curve affects the system open-loop bias and its stability, which directly affects the accuracy of angular velocity measurement. In this paper, a new mathematic model is established. The influence of the coupler normal mode loss difference (the phase difference between the coupler cross port output optical field and direct port is less than the ideal π/2) on the symmetry of resonant curve, the resonant signal modulated by the triangular wave, and the demodulation curve are analyzed. Moreover, the asymmetry of the resonant curve leads to the asymmetry of the resonant signal, as modulated by the triangular wave and the demodulation curve from the theoretical simulation and the experiment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)

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16 pages, 10381 KB

Open AccessArticle

INS/GNSS Integration for Aerobatic Flight Applications and Aircraft Motion Surveying

by Edgar L. V. Hinüber, Christian Reimer, Tim Schneider and Michael Stock

Sensors 2017, 17(5), 941; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17050941 - 26 Apr 2017

Cited by 43 | Viewed by 10410

Abstract

This paper presents field tests of challenging flight applications obtained with a new family of lightweight low-power INS/GNSS (inertial navigation system/global satellite navigation system) solutions based on MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical- sensor) machined sensors, being used for UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) navigation and control as well as for aircraft motion dynamics analysis and trajectory surveying. One key is a 42+ state extended Kalman-filter-based powerful data fusion, which also allows the estimation and correction of parameters that are typically affected by sensor aging, especially when applying MEMS-based inertial sensors, and which is not yet deeply considered in the literature. The paper presents the general system architecture, which allows iMAR Navigation the integration of all classes of inertial sensors and GNSS (global navigation satellite system) receivers from very-low-cost MEMS and high performance MEMS over FOG (fiber optical gyro) and RLG (ring laser gyro) up to HRG (hemispherical resonator gyro) technology, and presents detailed flight test results obtained under extreme flight conditions. As a real-world example, the aerobatic maneuvers of the World Champion 2016 (Red Bull Air Race) are presented. Short consideration is also given to surveying applications, where the ultimate performance of the same data fusion, but applied on gravimetric surveying, is discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inertial Sensors and Systems 2016)

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