Drift suppression in a dual-polarization fiber optic gyroscope caused by the Faraday effect

An investigation of the drift caused by the Faraday effect in a dual-polarization interferometric fiber optic gyroscope (IFOG) is presented. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results indicate that the Faraday effect phase drifts in two orthogonal polarizations of polarization-maintaining fiber always have opposite polarities that can be compensated effectively. When the interference signals of the two orthogonal polarized light waves are added up, the bias stability of the IFOG is improved significantly. This study is promising for reducing the drift of IFOG caused by the Faraday effect.