Laser fiber optic gyroscope having phase modulation

In a laser gyroscope, a non-reciprocal phase modulation is introduced between the clockwise (CW) and counterclockwise (CCW) beams at a modulation frequency (f). The CW and CCW beams are combined on a detector and the intensity of the output is observed at the fundamental frequency (f) and the higher harmonics (e.g. 2f, 4f). At each frequency, the detected signal is demodulated by mixing it with a reference signal at the same frequency and stepping the phase of the signal through successive increments of 90 DEG , thereby to determine the in-phase and quadrature components for each frequency monitored.