Honeywell International Inc.

Steven J Sanders

Tiequn Qiu

Austin Taranta

Sorin Mosor

Glen Aaron Sanders

Stephen Frederic Yates

Nancy E Iwamoto

Douglas Edward Smith

Derek Mead

Thomas Jeffrey Bingel

Paul S Fechner

Lawrence C Vallot

Timothy J Callaghan

Wesley J Hawkinson

Norman Gerard Tarleton

Clarence E Laskoskie

Robert C McCroskey

Jeffrey Earl Lewis

Deanne Tran Vo

Kara L Warrensford

Jason C Grooms

David A Doheny

Craig G Ross

Sorin Moser

Robert C Mccroskey

Lawrence Charles Vallot

Clarence Eugene Laskoskie

A system is provided, the system including at least one integrated optical circuit (IOC) formed from at least one material, and a support-structure configured to support the at least one IOC to couple light between other components. A performance of the at least one IOC is improved by treatment with at least one selected gas.

Treatment and/or stabilizing gases in an optical gyro based on an inorganic waveguide

A stabilized integrated optical circuit is presented. The stabilized integrated optical circuit includes at least one integrated optical chip formed from at least one inorganic material, a stabilizing-polarizable-fill gas, and an enclosure enclosing the at least one integrated optical chip and the stabilizing-polarizable-fill gas. At least one surface of the at least one integrated optical chip is modified by a treatment with at least one treatment gas selected to stabilize defects on the at least one surface. The stabilizing-polarizable-fill gas includes NO and at least one polarizable material.

Stabilization gas environments in a proton-exchanged lithium niobate optical chip

One embodiment is directed towards a method of navigating a body. The method includes determining a respective measured direction of each of a plurality of celestial objects with respect to the body based on an output of one or more star tracking sensors mounted to the body. Calculating an expected direction of at least one of the plurality of celestial objects with respect to the body based on a current navigation solution for the body. Calculating an updated navigation solution for the body based on the expected direction of the at least one celestial object, the measured direction of the plurality of celestial objects, and an output of one or more inertial sensors mounted to the body.

Navigating with star tracking sensors

A fiber light source comprises a laser pump configured to generate a pump laser beam at a predetermined wavelength; a first segment of rare earth doped fiber; a second segment of rare earth doped fiber; and an optical coupler coupled to a first end of the first segment and a first end of the second segment. The optical coupler is configured to split the pump laser beam based on a power coupling ratio. The first segment generates a first stimulated emission having a first mean wavelength sensitivity to pump laser power fluctuations and the second segment generates a second stimulated emission having a second mean wavelength sensitivity to pump laser power fluctuations such that a combined stimulated emission is approximately insensitive to pump laser power fluctuations.

Compensated broadband fiber light source with stable mean wavelength

A dispersion managed interferometric fiber optic gyroscope comprising: a coupler coupled to the broadband light source via a first input fiber; an IOC comprising: a beamsplitter that directs the input signal to a first output and a second output; a combiner configured to combine a first return signal from the first output and a second return signal from the second output into a combined return signal; an integrated optical circuit input coupled to the coupler via a second input fiber; a fiber optic gyroscope sensing coil coupled to a first pigtail fiber and second pigtail fiber, the sensing coil comprising sensing fibers, wherein at least one dispersion slope of at least one of the first input fiber, second input fiber, first pigtail fiber, second pigtail fiber, and the sensing fibers is selected such that the signals at the IOC input has a second order coherence substantially equal to two.

Dispersion managed interferometric fiber optic gyroscope

A rare-earth-doped-fiber light source with wavelength stability includes a rare-earth doped fiber and an undoped fiber placed in proximity to each other and having the same host material and the same cross-sectional structure, a coupler configured to direct a first portion of pump power from a pump laser to the undoped fiber so the first portion of pump power was twice passed through the coupler; and a wavelength division multiplexer configured to input a second portion of pump power from the pump laser to the rare-earth doped fiber. The rare-earth doped fiber is an active medium for the broadband light source and includes a fiber core doped with rare-earth ions. The undoped fiber includes a rare-earth-dopant-free fiber core. The length of the undoped fiber is one of the same as that of the doped fiber or optimized to match a radiation sensitivity of the doped fiber.

Broadband fiber light source with high wavelength stability under radiation for IFOG applications

Systems and methods for environmentally insensitive high-performance fiber-optic gyroscopes are provided. In one embodiment, a loop closure electronics apparatus for a fiber optic gyroscope having an optical phase modulator characterized by a transfer function that includes an error component of at least second order is provided. The apparatus comprises: a first digital circuit that generates a digital bias modulation signal; a second digital circuit that generates a digital feedback signal; at least one digital-to-analog converter that produces an electrical signal that drives the phase modulator from the digital bias modulation signal and the digital feedback signal; and a compensator that includes an analog filter of at least second order and a digital filter of at least second order, wherein the analog filter and the digital filter pre-filter the electrical signal to compensate for the error component.

Systems and methods for environmentally insensitive high-performance fiber-optic gyroscopes

A clamp-point active circuit is provided. The clamp-point active circuit includes a rate amplifier configured to receive an output from a device transitioning between at least two levels. The clamp-point active circuit has at least one switching device configured to receive an output from the rate amplifier. The at least one switching device is in at least one respective feedback loop of the rate amplifier. A switching of the at least one switching device causes the rate amplifier to amplify with high linearity in a desired operating range and to clamp outputs received from the transitioning device that are outside the desired operating range to a fixed level.

High-linearity signal-processing amplifier

Systems and methods for fiber-optic gyroscopes are provided. In one embodiment, a fiber-optic gyroscope comprises: a light source current servo coupled to a light source that transmits light through an optic path, wherein the light source current servo controls intensity of light through the optic path via a light source current drive that supplies current to power the light source; and an intensity control signal processor coupled to the optic path via a photo detector, wherein the intensity control signal processor outputs an intensity control signal to the light source current servo, wherein the intensity control signal is a function of intensity of light as received at the photo detector; wherein the light source current servo compares the intensity control signal against a stable analog voltage reference to adjust the light source current drive and drive optical power at the photo detector towards a constant level.

Constant optical power sensor using a light source current servo combined with digital demodulation intensity suppression for radiation and vibration insensitivity in a fiber optic gyroscope

A broadband light source configured to emit a stable broadband optical beam is provided. The broadband light source includes at least one optical pump source, an optical system including a polarization beam combiner, and a solid state laser medium. The optical system is configured to receive at least one optical pump beam from a respective one of the at least one optical pump source. The solid state laser medium receives a substantially unpolarized pump beam from a first output of the optical system. Stable broadband amplified spontaneous emission is output from a second output of the optical system.

Fiber light source with high mean wavelength stability and reliability

A fiber optic gyroscope includes a light source, a coupler coupled to the light source, a photodetector coupled to the coupler, an integrated optic circuit (IOC) coupled to the coupler by a first element, and a sensing loop coupled to the IOC by second and third elements. At least one of the first, second and third elements includes a polarizing element.

Bias-reduced fiber optic gyroscope with polarizing fibers

Apparatus for providing Bias-Instability reduction in Fiber Optic Gyroscopes are provided. In one embodiment, an optical circuit for a fiber optic gyroscope having a broadband light source and an optical fiber loop comprises: a PM fiber of length v; an IOC coupled to the PM fiber via a pigtail of length d, a second pigtail with length of d, and a third pigtail with length of d; a splitter that splits light received from the first pigtail into a first and second beams directed to the second and third pigtails; and a depolarizer circuit coupled to said fiber loop including a first fiber section of length x, a second fiber section of length z, a third fiber section of length w and a fourth fiber section of length y; and wherein the lengths of v, x, y, dand dare proportioned to avoid regions of high bias instability.

Bias-instability reduction in fiber optic gyroscopes

A computer-implementable method of reducing bias instability in a fiber optic gyroscope includes receiving, with a computer, a first data set enabling the computer to generate a model of the gyroscope, including a light source, a photodetector, and a plurality of optical components and fiber sections coupling the light source to the photodetector, and a light signal to be propagated from the light source to the photodetector. The light signal has an associated wavelength spectrum. For each wavelength of the spectrum, the relative lightwave intensity reaching the photodetector is calculated. A signal-wave intensity and a spurious-wave intensity are determined from the calculated relative lightwave intensities. A scale factor is determined from the signal-wave intensity. The spurious-wave intensity is integrated over the wavelength spectrum of the light source to obtain a total spurious-wave intensity. A rate bias error is determined based on the total spurious-wave intensity and the scale factor.

A method and a system for adjusting the sensitivity of an optical sensor are provided. A first beam of light in an optical fiber is separated into first and second portions propagating therethrough at a first speed. A second beam of light is directed into the optical fiber to interact with the first beam of light such that the first and second portions propagate through the optical fiber at a second speed. The propagation speed in turn influences the sensitivity of the optical sensor.

Growing community of inventors

Scottsdale, AZ, United States of America

Steven J Sanders