| 摘要 |
Light from a light source is linearly polarized by a polarizer and is then split by an optical splitter/coupler into two parts which are simultaneously coupled, as right-handed light and left-handed light, into both ends of an optical fiber coil. The right-handed light and left-handed light emitted from the ends of the optical fiber coil are combined by the optical splitter/coupler into interference light, which is extracted after passing through the polarizer and is converted into an electric signal corresponding to its intensity. The phase difference between the right-handed light and the left-handed light, corresponding to an angular rate applied to the optical fiber coil, is detected from the electric signal. A depolarizer is inserted in series at an arbitrary position in a loop from one end of the optical splitter/coupler to the other end thereof via the optical fiber coil. The depolarizer is so constructed that the difference between the difference in propagation time between perpendicularly intersecting polarized light components in the depolarizer and the difference in propagation time between perpendicularly intersecting polarized light components in the optical fiber coil is greater that the coherence time of light which passes through the loop.
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