Absolute rotation measurement based on the Sagnac effect

Abstract

This chapter deals with technical aspects of absolute rotation measurement based on the Sagnac effect. Starting from a brief description of this effect, its explanation based on different physical approaches is presented. Overviews of optical gyroscopes as a technical implementation of the Sagnac effect for angular position measurement are shown. Differences between gyro and rotation measurements are pointed out. On this basis, fundamental investigations connected with attainable accuracy of the designed fibreoptic rotational seismometers (FORS) are presented. Sensitivity, resolution, noise and drift phenomena are discussed. Finally, technical implementation of different constructions of FORS are proposed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.