Increasing the scale factor of gas laser based gyroscopes with an external gain saturation beam
US8422022B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 5, 2010 |
| Grant date | Apr 16, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 3, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/2222
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A ring laser gyroscope that includes a cavity containing a gain medium, a first plurality of reflective surfaces coupled to the cavity, a medium exciter operable to excite the gain medium, and a saturation beam source operable to emit a saturation beam. The first plurality of reflective surfaces includes a first reflective surface, a second reflective surface, and a third reflective surface. The first, second, and third reflective surfaces are positioned to reflect light along a path defined in the cavity between the plurality of reflective surfaces. The excited gain medium induces first and second laser fields within the cavity. The emitted saturation beam intersects with the first and second laser fields at a first interaction region of the cavity. The saturation beam interacts with the gain medium to reduce the gain of the first and second laser fields at a first range of frequencies.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.