Passively biased fiber-optic Sagnac interferometric sensor architecture,
for gyroscope and current sensor in particular, is disclosed. One
embodiment uses a 3.times.3 coupler entirely made of circular
polarization maintaining fiber that serves as a beam splitter and
meanwhile a passive bias. An alternative is to use a 3.times.3 hybrid
coupler consisting of two linear polarization maintaining fibers and one
conventional single-mode fiber, with the former two connected in a common
interferometric sensor circuitry, and with the latter one cut short at
both ends to form matched terminations. Still another alternative is an
integral unit of Faraday rotator, whose central part is a fiber-optic
magneto-optic 45.degree. rotator, with a "zero to fast" fiber-optic
quarter wave plate attached to one side, and a "fast to zero" fiber-optic
quarter wave plate to the other. Advantages of passive bias are
simplicity in construction, no need of manual adjustment and operational
stability.