Patent · US Expired

Fiber optic interferometer with wavelength-stabilized light source

US5485274A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
3References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateOct 17, 1994
Grant dateJan 16, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 17, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01C19/726
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An integrated optics chip is employed as a Michelson interferometer for stabilizing the wavelength of a light source in a fiber optic Sagnac interferometer for measuring rotation rate. A statistically-independent second signal component is applied in addition to a resetting digital phase ramp dependent on rotation rate to a phase modulator incorporated in the integrated optics chip (MIOC). The second signal component optimizes the working point of the phase modulator. By employing such statistically-independent variation of the phase modulation, the light wavelength-dependent measuring signal of the Michelson interferometer may be demodulated from the detector read-out signaled used for readjustment of the light-source wavelength via a light-source temperature and/or injection current change. In open loop operation, scale factor variations can be compensated using the light wavelength-dependent measuring signal.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.