How random twists of a single-mode fiber lightguide affect the sensitivity of fiber gyroscopes to an external magnetic field

Based on a model of the random twists of the birefringence axes of an optical fiber lightguide that appear when the fiber lightguide is drawn from a blank, a relationship is determined between the parameter that determines the magnetic sensitivity of fiber-optic gyroscopes and the parameter that characterizes the relation of orthogonally polarized waves in an anisotropic fiber lightguide. A method is proposed for determining the magnetic sensitivity of fiber-optic gyroscopes, starting from the parameters of the fiber lightguide and the winding radius of the fiber on the spool of the gyroscope. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.