Observation of thermal noise in a dynamically biased fiber-optic gyro.

The effect of phase noise caused by thermal f luctuations in optical fiber is observed experimentally in a dynamically biased open-loop fiber-optic gyro. When source noise subtraction is used, thermal noise effects are readily observable. Total noise levels are in good agreement with theory. Contributions from shot, thermal, and electronic noise to the random walk coefficient are calculated, and the total is compared with experiment.