STABLE FIBER-SOURCE GYROSCOPES

We describe two new configurations of fiber gyroscopes that use superfluorescent fiber laser sources. In the first configuration we introduce a backward-pumping technique that achieves an order-of-magnitude increase in the power that can be launched into the gyroscope without instabilities. In the second configuration we employ the optical gain of the superfluorescent fiber laser source to amplify the signal returned from the gyroscope, obtaining an additional three-orders-of-magnitude increase in the optical power incident upon the detector, with an implication for simplification of the electronics. In both configurations, source beat-noise-limited rotation sensitivity is achieved. © 1990 Optical Society of America.