Second-order passive ring interferometer sensor and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10876840-B2
Application number	US-201916382758-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 12, 2019
Priority date	Jun 15, 2018
Publication date	Dec 29, 2020
Grant date	Dec 29, 2020

Abstract

A passive ring interferometer sensor includes an electromagnetic ring path configured to receive a pair of electromagnetic waves from an electromagnetic radiation source and to direct the waves to be counter-propagating within the ring path toward respective ends of the path. A combination junction receives the waves from the respective ends and combines the waves to be co-propagating within a coupling path. Polarization elements are configured to set the waves to be mutually co-polarized within the electromagnetic ring path and to be mutually cross-polarized within the coupling path. A detector is configured to receive the mutually cross-polarized waves from the coupling path and to detect second-order coherence. Embodiments can sense rotation rate as fiber-optic gyroscopes or serve as other types of sensors such as gravitational wave sensors. Embodiments may have greatly increased unambiguous range and decreased sensitivity to any centroid wavelength shift.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A passive ring interferometer sensor comprising:
an electromagnetic ring path configured to receive a pair of electromagnetic waves from an electromagnetic radiation source and to direct the pair of electromagnetic waves to be counter-propagating within the electromagnetic ring path toward respective ends of the electromagnetic ring path;
a combination junction configured to receive the pair of electromagnetic waves from the respective ends of the electromagnetic ring path and to combine the pair of electromagnetic waves to be co-propagating within a coupling path;
polarization elements configured to set the pair of electromagnetic waves to be mutually co-polarized within the electromagnetic ring path and to be mutually cross-polarized within the coupling path; and
a detector configured to receive the mutually cross-polarized pair of electromagnetic waves from the coupling path and to detect second-order coherence of the mutually cross-polarized electromagnetic waves.

2. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic ring path is an ultraviolet, x-ray, or gamma-ray ring path; the pair of electromagnetic waves is a pair of ultraviolet, x-ray, or gamma-ray waves; and the electromagnetic radiation source is an ultraviolet, x-ray, or gamma-ray source.

3. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic ring path is an infrared or microwave-frequency ring path; the pair of electromagnetic waves is a pair of infrared or microwave-frequency waves; and the electromagnetic radiation source is an infrared or microwave-frequency source.

4. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic ring path is an optical ring path, and wherein the pair of electromagnetic waves is a pair of optical waves, the sensor further comprising the electromagnetic radiation source, wherein the electromagnetic radiation source is a light source.

5. The sensor of claim 4 , wherein the light source is a broadband light source and the light is broadband source light, the sensor further including at least one optical phase modulator configured to receive the broadband source light and to deliver conditioned broadband output light having at least one of reduced spectral modulation depth and increased central degree of nth-order temporal coherence, characterized by a phase noise modulation enhancement factor, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2, relative to the broadband source light, the pair of optical waves formed from the conditioned broadband output light.

6. The sensor of claim 4 , wherein the light source is a narrowband light source and the light is narrowband source light.

7. A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) comprising the sensor of claim 4 , the FOG further including a processor configured to determine, from the second-order coherence of the mutually cross-polarized optical waves, a rotation rate of the optical ring path.

8. The sensor of claim 4 , wherein the optical ring path includes at least one of a bulk optic configured to direct the pair of optical waves therein; a bulk optic configured to direct the pair of optical waves through free space, at least a portion of the optical ring path being a free-space path; an integrated optical element; and an optical fiber or other waveguide.

9. The sensor of claim 4 , wherein the coupling path includes at least one of a bulk optic or free space optical path, an integrated waveguide element, or an optical fiber or other waveguide.

10. The sensor of claim 4 , wherein the optical ring path includes a polarizing or polarization-maintaining optical fiber or other waveguide.

11. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the detector is a two-photon-absorption-based detector.

12. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the detector is a coincidence counting detector.

13. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation source is configured to output electromagnetic radiation with a central degree of second-order temporal coherence greater than 1.0.

14. The sensor of claim 13 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation source is configured to output electromagnetic radiation with a central degree of second-order temporal coherence greater than 2.0.

15. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the polarization elements are Faraday rotators.

16. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the pair of electromagnetic waves are linearly polarized within the electromagnetic ring path, within the coupling path, or both.

17. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the combination junction is also a splitter junction configured to split electromagnetic radiation from the electromagnetic radiation source to form the pair of electromagnetic waves.

18. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein the combination junction includes at least one of a waveguide device and a bulk optic beam combiner.

19. A method of passive ring interferometric sensing, the method comprising:
receiving, at an electromagnetic ring path, a pair of electromagnetic waves from an electromagnetic radiation source;
directing the pair of electromagnetic waves to be counter-propagating within the electromagnetic ring path toward respective ends of the electromagnetic ring path;
combining the pair of electromagnetic waves, received from the respective ends of the electromagnetic ring path, to be co-propagating within a coupling path;
polarizing the pair of electromagnetic waves to be mutually co-polarized within the electromagnetic ring path and to be mutually cross-polarized within the coupling path; and
detecting second-order coherence of the mutually cross-polarized pair of electromagnetic waves, the mutually cross-polarized pair of electromagnetic waves received from the coupling path.

20. A method of sensing rotation with a fiber optic gyroscope (FOG), the method comprising:
the method of passive ring interferometric sensing of claim 19 , wherein the electromagnetic ring path is an optical ring path, the pair of electromagnetic waves is a pair of optical waves, and the electromagnetic radiation source is a light source; and
determining a rotation of the optical ring path from the second-order coherence of the mutually cross-polarized optical waves.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein detecting second-order coherence includes using two-photon absorption.

22. The method of claim 19 , wherein detecting second-order coherence includes using coincidence counting.

23. The method of claim 19 , wherein polarizing the pair of electromagnetic waves includes using Faraday rotation.

24. A device comprising:
means for receiving, at an electromagnetic ring path, a pair of electromagnetic waves from an electromagnetic radiation source;
means for directing the pair of electromagnetic waves to be counter-propagating within the electromagnetic ring path toward respective ends of the electromagnetic ring path;
means for combining the pair of electromagnetic waves, received from the respective ends of the electromagnetic ring path, to be co-propagating within a coupling path;
means for polarizing the pair of electromagnetic waves to be mutually co-polarized within the electromagnetic ring path and to be mutually cross-polarized within the coupling path; and
means for detecting second-order coherence of the mutually cross-polarized pair of electromagnetic waves, the mutually cross-polarized pair of electromagnetic waves received from the coupling path.

Assignees

• Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc

Inventors

• Feke Gilbert D

Classifications

• G01C19/727 Primary

  using a passive ring resonator · CPC title

• G01C19/721

  Details, e.g. optical or electronical details · CPC title