Abstract: The inertial measurement unit (IMU) is the core of a position and orientation system (POS), whose accuracy has a crucial impact on POS accuracy. But the IMU accuracy based on high precision fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) is degraded because of the sensitivity of the FOG fiber coil to the magnetic field. This paper studied the magnetic sensitivity mechanism of the FOG, and through experimental study reached the conclusion that the IMU based on a high precision FOG is also sensitive to the magnetic field. An IMU shielding is designed, and its shielding effectiveness (SE) is analyzed by electromagnetic field finite element analysis software Ansoft Maxwell for different materials with different thicknesses. The best SE of 48.20 dB is achieved with a Helmholtz coil test, which is consistent with the results of the finite element analysis. The turn table test shows that a reduction of over 9% of the FOG drift is achieved with the enclosure. The Helmholtz coil test with magnetic shielding demonstrates that the bias and drift magnetic sensitivity of the FOG are decreased by 2-21 dB and 9-23 dB respectively. The shielding is valuable for improving the IMU test and application precision and its adaptability to airborne environment.

Key words: inertial measurement unit, fiber-optic gyroscope, frequency spectrum analysis, power spectral density, finite element method, magnetic shielding