Influence of the source spectrum on the polarization errors of fiber-optic gyroscope

Based on the polarization interference fiber optical gyroscope (IFOG) which uses Y waveguide integrated optical modulator, and according to the parameters of the optical instruments, their Jones matrixes and me mathematical model for the optical transmission of IFOG have been built, and the expressions of the polarization errors of IFOG are deduced. For the first time, with the aid of spectrum of broadband source, the polarization errors caused by different source spectra are calculated by simulation. Finally, when the other parameters of optical path are unchanged, me difference of errors caused by approximate spectra is about 10^-5 (°)/h, while that caused by different spectra is about 10^-2 (°)/h. When the bandwidth difference of different spectra is small, polarization errors in FOG caused by source, whose mean wavelength is at long wavelength and its shape is like Gaussian,are smaller than that caused by source whose shape is flat. This conclusion is guidance for the choosing of IFOG's source.