MICRO-MINIATURE ROLL RATE SENSOR

WITH THE CURRENT TREND TOWARDS STRAPDOWN GUIDANCE APPROACHES AS ALTERNATIVES TO INERTIAL PLATFORMS GAINING MOMENTUM, THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPATIBLE ROLL RATE SENSORS IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT. THE INNOVATIVE DESIGN PROPOSED WILL UTILIZE THE UNIQUE ADVANTAGES AND CAPABILITIES OF FIBER OPTIC SENSORS FOR THIS APPLICATION. FIBER OPTIC SENSORS ARE RAPIDLY BECOMING POPULAR ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL MEASUREMENT APPROACHES DUE TO THEIR INHERENT SOLID-STATE DESIGN, LOW COST, LOW POWER REQUIREMENTS, SMALL PHYSICAL SIZE AND SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONAL BANDWIDTH. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE DESIGN OF FIBER SENSORS WHICH UTILIZE STRESS-INDUCED BIREFRINGENCE HAVE SUGGESTED AN INNOVATIVE DESIGN FOR USE AS A MINIATURIZED ROLL RATE SENSOR. THIS DESIGN APPROACH FEATURES HIGH SENSITIVITY, MINIMUM PHYSICALSIZE, LOW POWER REQUIREMENTS AND IMMUNITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS, SUCH AS TEMPERATURE AND RADIATION.