3.

Fiber optic gyroscope (8 points)

The mechanical gyroscope is a turntable device whose core is a flywheel whose axis of symmetry can
rotate freely thanks to its three-axis suspension. The swivel (a coupling between two parts enabling
one to revolve without turning the other) wheel retains its original axis of rotation even when the
suspension is moved, keeping it in the swing position, so it can hold directions and measure angular
velocity.

The fiber optic gyroscope is similar to the mechanical gyroscope only in its application, since it is also
suitable for determining the angular velocity of a rotating coordinate system. The device is
essentially a so-called fiber optic version of the Sagnac interferometer in which the phase difference
of the interfering light waves depends on the angular velocity of the device rotating with the
coordinate system. This task addresses the operating principle of a fiber optic gyroscope.

3.A Sagnac interferometer

One version of the Sagnac interferometer is shown in Figure 3.1. is shown. This device consists of
two ideal planar mirrors and a beam divider arranged in the form of an L-sided regular triangle. A
plane wave of wavelength λ and intensity I0 from the light source is incident on the beam splitter at
60◦. The beam splitter is a thin planar plate made of dielectric (insulating) material whose upper face
acts as a semi-transparent mirror, reflecting half the intensity of the light incident on it and allowing
the other half to pass through. The bottom panel of the beam splitter is non-reflective due to a thin
coating.

After passing through the beam splitter, the light bounces clockwise and counter-clockwise across
the mirrors until both waves arrive at the beam splitter again. Here, the waves again split in half at
half the intensity ratio, so that some of the waves merge back into the light source and the other
part (interfering with each other) enters the detector.

3.A.1. What intensity does the detector measure when the interferometer is at rest and how much
light is returned to the light source?

3A2. Rotate mirror 1 of the interferometer a small angle α as shown in 3.1. as shown in FIG. Does it
change and, if so, how does the intensity measured by the detector change as a function of α?

3B The fiber optic Sagnac interferometer as a gyroscope

The interferometer shown in Fig. 3.1. may also be implemented using optical fibers, as shown in Fig.
3.2. The refractive index of the optical fiber core of optical fibers is assumed to be close to 1. The
wavelength of the light used is λ and the intensity from the light source in the fiber is I0. Equal-
intensity beam splitting is achieved by coupling two optical fibers: if the light-conducting cores of the
two fibers are located close enough to each other, the electromagnetic wave can be "coupled" from
one fiber to another. If an incoming wave arrives at the coupling, the phase difference between the
two forward waves will be π / 2. Two halves of the beam from the light source pass through N loops
of area A each counterclockwise (-) and counterclockwise (+), and then pass through the coupling to
the detector and to the light source.

If the interferometer of Fig. 3.2. is rotated around the center of the circular loops at an angular
velocity Ω, the wavelengths of the waves in the + and - direction change slightly due to the Doppler-
effect. Thus, the intensity measured by the detector will be a function of Ω.
3.B.1. Determine the φ phase difference of the waves in the + and − direction when they reach the
detector. The answer is given using the universal constant(c), λ, A, N and Ω!

3.B.2. Find the intensity measured by the detector using the phase difference φ of the waves in the +
and - direction and I0.

3.B.3. In a typical fiber optic gyroscope, a 200 m long optical fiber is wound onto a vertical axis of d =
10 cm in diameter. What is the phase difference between the two beams in Budapest due to the
rotation of the Earth? (The latitude of Budapest is about 47◦.)