Effect of radiation-induced mean wavelength shift in optical fibers on the scale factor of an interferometric fiber optic gyroscope at a wavelength of 1300 nm

• Published in: Chinese physics B 2012-09, Vol.21 (9), p.366-372
• Main Author: 金靖 王学勤 林松 宋凝芳
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorption spectra; Attenuation; Dosage; Fibers; Germanium; Interferometric fiber optic gyroscopes; Irradiation; Optical fibers; Wavelengths; 低剂量率; 光纤陀螺; 干涉; 平均波长; 比例因子; 波长偏移; 空间环境; 辐射源
• ISSN: 1674-1056; 2058-3834; 1741-4199
• DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/21/9/094220

In order to analyze the effect of wavelength-dependent radiation-induced attenuation （RIA） on the mean trans- mission wavelength in optical fiber and the scale factor of interferometric fiber optic gyroscopes （IFOGs）, three types of polarization-maintaining （PM） fibers are tested by using a 60Co γ-radiation source. The observed different mean wave- length shift （MWS） behaviors for different fibers are interpreted by color-center theory involving dose rate-dependent absorption bands in ultraviolet and visible ranges and total dose-dependent near-infrared absorption bands. To evaluate the mean wavelength variation in a fiber coil and the induced scale factor change for space-borne IFOGs under low radiation doses in a space environment, the influence of dose rate on the mean wavelength is investigated by testing four germanium （Ge） doped fibers and two germanium-phosphorus （Ge-P） codoped fibers irradiated at different dose rates. Experimental results indicate that the Ge-doped fibers show the least mean wavelength shift during irradiation and their mean wavelength of optical signal transmission in fibers will shift to a shorter wavelength in a low-dose-rate radiation environment. Finally, the change in the scale factor of IFOG resulting from the mean wavelength shift is estimated and tested, and it is found that the significant radiation-induced scale factor variation must be considered during the design of space-borne IFOGs.