Abstract: A ring-shaped interferometer device containing optical means for phase shifting which act on the rays passing through the rings, these means containing an oscillator which delivers a periodic voltage of frequency 1/2.tau., in which .tau. is the time taken by a ray to pass through the ring and a saw-tooth generator whose resonant frequency is slaved to the non reciprocal phase shift.

Abstract: The invention relates to an optical fiber measuring device of the type in which variation of a measured parameter causes a difference of progression of light waves in the optical fiber. Such a device permits measurement of speed of rotation, or of current and magnetic field. The device includes an electronic device for digitally processing a signal indicative of phase shift of one light wave relative to another, the light waves propagating through a preferably monomode optical fiber in a SAGNAC ring interferometer, modulated by a phase modulator.

Abstract: An integrated optical device including at least one hybrid optical junction with two input paths and two output paths, for transmitting light energy from the input to the output paths as a function of phase difference between the inputs. The junction includes a Y-shaped node formed by three monomodal optical wave-guides situated in a refractive medium with a lower refractive index than that of the three wave-guides.

Abstract: An environmentally independent fiber optic rotation sensor having a polarizer or polarization filter interposed between each beam coupler and the beamsplitter of the rotation sensor. The polarizers permit the passing of the polarization of the beams therethrough while rejecting the cross-polarized waves of the beams thereby causing a co-polarized mode of operation to take place. As a result of the co-polarized mode of operation the rotation sensor is unaffected by the surrounding environmental conditions. However, in so doing, the rotation sensor is subject to spurious fringe patterns which take place at the fiber ends. Elimination of these fringe patterns take place at the input side of the rotation sensor rather than at the output side in order to produce satisfactory rotation sensing.

Abstract: An optical probe assembly for detecting the position of an object surface, especially the position of a three-dimensional, curved surface such as a surface in a contact lens or the cornea of the eye, is disclosed herein. This assembly and its method of operation use a beam of light which is focused to a point and an arrangement for automatically causing this point to move or scan in a predetermined way relative to the object surface including reciprocally through the surface for causing light to be reflected back from the latter. During this scanning period, when the beam point is coincident with the object surface, the amount of light which is reflected back along the path of the incident beam is maximized and automatically detected. At the same time, the position of the beam point relative to a known reference is automatically monitored and in combination with the detected light is used for determining the position of the object surface relative to this reference.