Effect of radiation-induced color centers absorption in optical fibers on fiber optic gyroscope for space application

The effects of color centers' absorption on fibers and interferometric fiber optical gyroscopes(IFOGs) are studied in the paper. The irradiation induced attenuation(RIA) spectra of three types of polarization-maintaining fibers(PMFs), i.e.,P-doped, Ge-doped, and pure silica, irradiated at 100 Gy and 1000 Gy are measured in a wavelength range from 1100 nm to1600 nm and decomposed according to the Gaussian model. The relationship of the color centers absorption intensity with radiation dose is investigated based on a power model. Furthermore, the effects of all color centers' absorption on RIA and mean wavelength shifts(MWS) at 1300 nm and 1550 nm are discussed respectively. Finally, the random walk coefficient(RWC) degradation induced from RIA and the scale factor error induced by MWS of the IFOG are simulated and tested at a wavelength of 1300 nm. This research will contribute to the applications of the fibers in radiation environments.