Lasergyro with beamstabilization

The effect of resonator geometry on the characteristics of a laser gyro has been investigated. An experimental gyro was constructed in which horizontal and vertical beam displacements were effected by means of a new kind of mirror drive, which allows simultaneous linear and rotational mirror movements. The influence of block bending and path-length control, as well as of temperature gradients, on the gyro performance were estimated. It was found that horizontal beam displacements caused most significant changes in the lock-in threshold, and by that a serious change of the whole gyro characteristics. Although the other measured effects were less serious than the horizontal-beam displacement in changing the laser gyro characteristics, it was obvious that for a successful laser-gyro technology, a complete beam-path stabilization is a necessity.