title: Design and initial operation of a 367-m2 rectangular ring laser.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Avenue, Conway, Arizona 72032, USA. dunn@mercury.hendrix.edu
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: Dmitry E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Shabalin
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Thirkettle
authors.forename: Graeme J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.forename: Geoffrey E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Stedman
authors.forename: K Ulrich
authors.initials: KU
authors.lastname: Schreiber