Optical fiber gyroscope for realizing multiple detours based on electro-optical effect switch and method thereof
Technical Field
The invention relates to an optical fiber gyroscope, in particular to an optical fiber gyroscope and a method thereof for realizing multi-time detour based on an electro-optical effect switch.
Background
The gyroscope is a mainstream device in the field of inertia, the most popular is the fiber optic gyroscope based on the Sagnac effect at present, and compared with the traditional mechanical gyroscope, the fiber optic gyroscope has the characteristics of simple structure, long service life, high precision and the like. Nowadays, the design technology of the optical fiber gyroscope is mature, and then improvements are made towards improving the precision, the sensitivity and the stability.
In a conventional interference-type optical fiber gyro, two beams of light output from a Y waveguide are propagated into an optical fiber ring clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively, and a rotational angular velocity is calculated by calculating a Sagnac phase shift. In the structure, the optical fiber ring usually adopts a quadrupole symmetrical winding method or a bipolar symmetrical winding method, so that the influence caused by external temperature, vibration and the like can be reduced, the optical fiber ring is longer in length and can improve the precision of the optical fiber gyroscope, but larger parasitic phase noise can be caused, the interference of the external environment is easily caused, the winding time is long due to the long optical fiber ring, and the yield is low.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to overcome the defects of the prior art, reduce the length of an optical fiber sensing ring (or improve the sensitivity by times compared with the traditional optical fiber gyroscope under the same length of the optical fiber sensing ring) under the condition of not changing the measurement precision, and thus reduce the nonreciprocal error and the noise interference of the optical fiber ring.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a multiple-pass fiber optic gyroscope based on an electro-optical effect switch, which comprises a wide spectrum light source, a light source coupler, a Y waveguide, a 2 × 2 coupler with an electro-optical switch, an optical fiber sensing ring, a detector and a signal processing circuit;
the output end of the wide-spectrum light source and the receiving end of the detector are respectively connected with two port optical fibers on the same side of the light source coupler, and one port on the other side of the light source coupler is connected with an input port optical fiber of the Y waveguide; the first output port of the Y waveguide and the second output port of the Y waveguide are respectively connected with the first port of the 2 x 2 coupler and the fourth port of the 2 x 2 coupler through optical fibers, and the second port of the 2 x 2 coupler and the third port of the 2 x 2 coupler are respectively connected with the optical fiber sensing ring; when the electro-optical switch is turned off, the first port and the fourth port of the 2 x 2 coupler are connected, the second port and the third port are connected, when the electro-optical switch is turned on, the first port and the third port of the 2 x 2 coupler are connected, the fourth port and the second port are connected, and the electro-optical switch is controlled by the signal processing circuit;
the detector is used for converting the obtained optical signal into an electric signal, and a feedback signal added on the Y waveguide is generated through the signal processing circuit, so that closed-loop control is realized.
Preferably, the 2 × 2 coupler with the electro-optical switch comprises a first optical waveguide (optical fiber) and a second optical waveguide (optical fiber), wherein the two optical waveguides are laterally ground to a position 0.5um away from the fiber core, a lithium niobate thin sheet with a metal electrode is closely attached to the positions of the two optical waveguides which are laterally ground and polished, and voltage is applied through the metal electrode to control optical coupling, so that light propagating in the first optical waveguide and light propagating in the second optical waveguide can be mutually coupled, if no voltage is applied, the light beams cannot be coupled, and loss caused by propagation in the optical waveguides is extremely low; two ends of the first optical waveguide are respectively connected with two output ports of the Y waveguide, and two ends of the second optical waveguide are respectively connected with the optical fiber sensing ring.
Preferably, the wide-spectrum light source adopts a superluminescent diode or an ASE light source.
Preferably, the optical fiber sensing ring adopts 250m polarization maintaining optical fiber, and the average diameter of the optical fiber sensing ring is 90 mm.
A method of achieving multiple detours of a light beam, comprising the steps of:
1) light emitted from a wide-spectrum light source enters a Y waveguide after passing through a light source coupler, and two beams of light output from a first output port of the Y waveguide and a second output port of the Y waveguide respectively enter a first port of a 2 x 2 coupler and a fourth port of the 2 x 2 coupler;
2) applying voltage to the lithium niobate thin sheet with the metal electrode through a signal processing circuit, wherein a second port and a third port of the 2 x 2 coupler are respectively communicated with a fourth port and a first port of the 2 x 2 coupler, so that light transmitted by the first optical waveguide is coupled to the second optical waveguide, and two beams of light respectively enter the optical fiber sensing ring from the third port and the second port of the 2 x 2 coupler to bypass; the voltage application time is controlled to maintain the time that the light beam winds the optical fiber sensing ring for one circle, then the voltage application is stopped, and the third port and the second port of the 2X 2 coupler are communicated, so that the two forward and reverse light beams wind the optical fiber sensing ring for multiple circles;
3) applying voltage to the lithium niobate sheet with the metal electrode again through the signal processing circuit to enable the light transmitted by the second optical waveguide to be coupled to the first optical waveguide, and enabling two beams of light in the optical fiber sensing ring to be coupled to the fourth port and the first port through the second port and the third port of the 2 x 2 coupler respectively and return to the Y waveguide; two returned beams of light interfere in the Y waveguide, the detector converts light interference signals into electric signals, the electric signals are processed through the signal processing circuit, the gyroscope angular speed is demodulated, feedback signals added on the Y waveguide are generated, and closed-loop control is achieved.
The invention has the following beneficial effects:
(1) in the invention, because the two beams forming interference are wound in the optical fiber sensing ring for N circles (N is a positive integer greater than 2), and the optical path length of the optical fiber sensing ring with the length of L is N x L, the phase difference between the two beams caused by the rotating speed is actually

Where D is the diameter of the fiber optic ring, c is the speed of light, and λ is the wavelength of the light. Therefore, under the condition that the length of the optical fiber ring is not changed, the transmission path of the light beam is directly controlled through the electro-optical switch on the 2 multiplied by 2 coupler, when the light beam enters the optical fiber sensing ring, the switch is closed, the light beam can be wound in the optical fiber ring for a plurality of circles, the signal is rotated in a doubling way, the length of the polarization-maintaining optical fiber material is effectively reduced on the premise of not changing the precision, the cost is reduced, and the noise is inhibited;
(2) the 2 x 2 coupler with the electro-optical switch has a simple structure and is convenient to control, only the voltage of a control circuit needs to be adjusted, and in addition, the coupling strength of light beams can be realized by setting different voltage values;
(3) two optical waveguides are adopted in the 2 x 2 coupler, the middle section sides of the optical waveguides are ground to be close to the core and then attached, the path of the light beam entering the optical fiber ring from the 2 x 2 coupler is short, the time consumption is low, and the light beam entering the optical fiber ring can make more turns;
(4) the invention adopts an all-fiber path, does not need to pass through any optical element, has simple structure and extremely low loss of light beams in the transmission process.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-turn optical fiber gyroscope based on electro-optical switches;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a 2 × 2 coupler configuration with electro-optical switches;
in the figure: in the figure: the optical fiber sensor comprises a 1 wide-spectrum light source, a 2 light source coupler, a 3Y waveguide, a 3-1Y waveguide first output port, a 3-2Y waveguide second output port, a 4-2X 2 coupler with an electro-optical switch, a 4-12X 2 coupler first port, a 4-22X 2 coupler second port, a 4-32X 2 coupler third port, a 4-42X 2 coupler fourth port, a 4-5 lithium niobate sheet with a metal electrode, a 4-6 silicon support for fixing a first optical waveguide, a 4-7 silicon support for fixing a second optical waveguide, a 5 optical fiber sensing ring, a 6 detector and a 7 signal processing circuit.
Detailed Description
As shown in fig. 1, an optical fiber gyroscope for realizing multiple detours based on an electro-optical effect switch is characterized by comprising a wide-spectrum light source 1, a light source coupler 2, a Y waveguide 3, a 2 × 2 coupler 4 with an optical switch, an optical fiber sensing ring 5, a detector 6 and a signal processing circuit 7;
the output end of the wide-spectrum light source 1 and the receiving end of the detector 6 are respectively connected with two port optical fibers on the same side of the light source coupler 2, and one port on the other side of the light source coupler 2 is connected with an input port optical fiber of the Y waveguide 3; the first output port 3-1 of the Y waveguide and the second output port 3-2 of the Y waveguide are respectively connected with the first port 4-1 of the 2 x 2 coupler and the fourth port 4-4 of the 2 x 2 coupler through optical fibers, and the second port 4-2 of the 2 x 2 coupler and the third port 4-3 of the 2 x 2 coupler are respectively connected with the optical fiber sensing ring 5; the detector is used for converting the obtained optical signal into an electric signal, and a feedback signal added on the Y waveguide 3 is generated through a signal processing circuit 7, so that closed-loop control is realized.
In the light propagation process, light emitted from a wide-spectrum light source 1 enters a Y waveguide 3 after passing through a light source coupler 2, and two beams of light output from a first output port 3-1 of the Y waveguide and a second output port 3-2 of the Y waveguide respectively enter a first port 4-1 of a 2 x 2 coupler and a fourth port 4-4 of the 2 x 2 coupler; when the electro-optical switch is closed, the first port 4-1 of the 2 × 2 coupler and the fourth port 4-4 of the 2 × 2 coupler are connected, the second port 4-2 of the 2 × 2 coupler and the third port 4-3 of the 2 × 2 coupler are connected, and light beams cannot enter the optical fiber sensing ring 5 from the second port 4-2 of the 2 × 2 coupler and the third port 4-3 of the 2 × 2 coupler; when the electro-optical switch is turned on, the first port 4-1 of the 2 × 2 coupler and the third port 4-3 of the 2 × 2 coupler are connected, the fourth port 4-4 of the 2 × 2 coupler and the second port 4-2 of the 2 × 2 coupler are connected, and two beams of light enter the optical fiber sensing ring 5 from the second port 4-2 of the 2 × 2 coupler and the third port 4-3 of the 2 × 2 coupler respectively. When the electro-optical switch is closed, the first port 4-1 of the 2 x 2 coupler and the fourth port 4-4 of the 2 x 2 coupler are turned on, the second port 4-2 of the 2 x 2 coupler and the third port 4-3 of the 2 x 2 coupler are turned on, and the electro-optical switch is controlled by the signal processing circuit 7.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the 2 × 2 coupler 4 with electro-optical switch is shown in fig. 2: comprising a first optical waveguide, a second optical waveguide, a lithium niobate thin sheet 4-5 with a metal electrode, and a silicon support 4-6 for fixing the first optical waveguide and a silicon support 4-7 for fixing the second optical waveguide. Specifically, the two optical waveguides are laterally ground to a position 0.5um away from the fiber core, and the lithium niobate thin sheet 4-5 with the metal electrode is tightly attached to the positions of the two optical waveguides which are laterally ground and polished. Four ends of the two optical waveguides are respectively used as four ports of the 2 x 2 coupler, wherein two ends of the first optical waveguide are respectively connected with two output ports of the Y waveguide 3, and two ends of the second optical waveguide are respectively connected with the optical fiber sensing ring 5. By applying a voltage to the lithium niobate sheet 4-5 with the metal electrode, the voltage can change the refractive index of lithium niobate, thereby changing the optical coupling coefficient and controlling the optical coupling. The light propagated by the first optical waveguide is coupled to the second optical waveguide to realize that the light beam enters the optical fiber to circularly travel, or the light propagated by the second optical waveguide is coupled to the first optical waveguide to realize that the light beam returns to the Y waveguide. If no voltage is applied, the light beam is not coupled, and the loss caused by propagation in the second optical waveguide is extremely small.
In one specific implementation process of the invention, the wide-spectrum light source 1 adopts a super-radiation diode (SLD) light source; the light source coupler is 50%: a 50% split coupler; the Y waveguide is a Y-shaped lithium niobate waveguide chip; the optical fiber sensing ring adopts 250m polarization maintaining optical fiber, and the average diameter of the optical fiber sensing ring is 90 mm.
The structure and the principle of the optical fiber gyroscope in the invention are explained above, the optical fiber gyroscope in the invention can realize that light beams can wind in the optical fiber ring for a plurality of circles, and the realization method comprises the following steps:
when two beams of light output from a first output port of the Y waveguide and a second output port of the Y waveguide enter a first port and a fourth port of the 2 x 2 coupler, an electro-optical switch is controlled to be started through a signal processing circuit, and the second port and the third port of the 2 x 2 coupler are respectively communicated with the fourth port and the first port of the 2 x 2 coupler, so that the two beams of light are respectively coupled to the third port and the second port of the 2 x 2 coupler and enter an optical fiber sensing ring to bypass; the opening time of the electro-optical switch is controlled to maintain the time that the light beam winds the optical fiber sensing ring for one circle, then the electro-optical switch is closed, and the third port and the second port of the 2 x 2 coupler are communicated, so that the two forward and backward light beams can wind the optical fiber sensing ring for multiple circles.
When two forward and reverse beams of light detour in the optical fiber sensing ring, if the electro-optical switch is always in a closed state, the two beams of light detour in the optical fiber ring all the time, the two beams of light do not return to the Y waveguide from the first port and the fourth port of the 2X 2 coupler, the number of the detour turns is controlled by the light-on state and time of the electro-optical switch, and the operation is simple and convenient.
When two beams of light complete the detour task in the optical fiber ring, the electro-optical switch is turned on again, the two beams of light in the same direction and in the same direction are coupled to the fourth port of the 2 x 2 coupler and the first port of the 2 x 2 coupler after passing through the second port of the 2 x 2 coupler and the third port of the 2 x 2 coupler respectively and return to the Y waveguide, the two beams of light returning interfere in the Y waveguide, the detector converts the light interference signal into an electric signal, the signal processing circuit 7 outputs an angular velocity value after digitally demodulating the electric signal and generates a feedback signal added on the Y waveguide, and closed-loop control is achieved.
Under the same input signal and device conditions, the amplitude of the rotating signal output by the optical fiber gyroscope is N times that of the traditional optical fiber gyroscope, the precision is high, and the thermal phase error (Shupe effect) is effectively reduced.