Design and initial operation of a 367-m2 rectangular ring laser.
The design and operation of a proof-of-principle rectangular He-Ne ring laser resonator with a cavity perimeter of 77.0 m and an area of approximately 367 m2 are described. With unevacuated beam lines this device gave an Earth-induced Sagnac frequency of 1513 Hz, with a relative Allan deviation over 1000 s down to 3 parts per million. The Earth's rotation provided a bias that eliminated the lock-in susceptibility. The use of increased pressure in the plasma tube facilitated single-mode operation by increasing the homogeneous pressure-broadened linewidth.
Dunn
Robert W
RW
Department of Physics, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Avenue, Conway, Arizona 72032, USA. dunn@mercury.hendrix.edu
Shabalin
Dmitry E
DE
Thirkettle
Robert J
RJ
MacDonald
Graeme J
GJ
Stedman
Geoffrey E
GE
Schreiber
K Ulrich
KU