Noise decomposition and parameter optimization method for high sensitivity fiber optic gyroscope

A novel random walk coefficient (RWC) model of the interferometric fiber optic gyroscope (IFOG) to decompose fundamental noise sources, namely the shot noise, the excess noise, the thermal noise, and the detection circuit noise, from the overall noise was developed. The coefficients of the model were extracted from the measured RWC instead of by calculating the accurate IFOG parameters, which is simpler and more accurate. The correctness and the accuracy of the model were verified by experiments. Using this model, the RWC of the experimental IFOG was predicted and the quantitative contributions of the noise sources were determined. According to the predicted results, the parameters of the IFOG were optimized. Finally, based on the model, a noise decomposition and parameter optimization method was proposed for high sensitivity IFOG design.