Production Development of Small Fiber Optic Gyros

G. A. Pavlath and M. S. Klemes

Abstract:	Fiber optic gyros have been in development for over ten years. Many models have been built in that time, some that promise characteristics unobtainable with other types of rate sensors. Recent advances in fiber optics, fiber optic components and diode light sources have made the development of high volume low cost production models feasible. Availability of high speed application specific integrated electronic circuits allows these gyros to be operated in a closed loop fashion at a cost and at a power consumption comparable to open loop instruments. Combining these features also permits size reductions of three to one, thus permitting application in vehicles that require small size, wide dynamic range and accurate scale factor capability. This paper will discuss the results of three fiber optic gyro developments. One for the ultra high shock environment of a cannon shell, one for medium accuracy applications in manned and unmanned vehicles and the last for application in an aircraft inertial navigation system. Flight test results are also presented for an inertial measurement unit that employs the medium accuracy gyro and an etched silicon accelerometer.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 46th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1990) June 26 - 28, 1990 Atlantic City, NJ
Pages:	179 - 183
Cite this article:	Pavlath, G. A., Klemes, M. S., "Production Development of Small Fiber Optic Gyros," Proceedings of the 46th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1990), Atlantic City, NJ, June 1990, pp. 179-183.
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