Polarization nonreciprocity suppression of dual-polarization fiber-optic gyroscope under temperature variation

Polarization nonreciprocity (PN) is one of the most critical factors that degrades the performance of interferometric fiber-optic gyroscopes (IFOGs), particularly under varying temperature. We present an experimental investigation of PN error suppression in a dual-polarization IFOG. Both experimental results and theoretical analysis indicate that the PN errors of the two orthogonally polarized light waves always have opposite signs that can be effectively compensated despite the temperature variation. As a result, the long-term stability of the IFOG has been significantly improved. This study is promising for reducing the temperature fragility of IFOGs. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America973 Program of China [2013CB329205]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [61307089]SCI(E)EIARTICLEpengchao@pku.edu.cn81826-18294