Device for measuring rotation rates

摘要

Light pulses periodically produced by a light source are each split into two pulses by an optical splitter and so introduced into a closed optical optical-fiber loop having at least one turn that they travel through the optical-fiber loop in opposite directions. After each circulation, a part of the pulses is extracted and fed to at least two adjacent optical/electrical transducers. The position of the interference pattern obtained by heterodyning is so controlled that an extreme value of the intensity distribution is present at the line of contact of the optical/electrical transducers. From the output signals of the optical/electrical transducers, a sum signal and a difference signal are formed. The sum signals are used to eliminate the amplitude dependence of the different signals. The rotation rate is determined from the difference between the difference signals assigned to two successive circulations around the optical-fiber loop.