ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE RING RESONATOR

• Main Authors: SMITH, IRL W. (JR.), DORSCHNER, TERRY A, STATZ, HERMANN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 13.05.1980
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION; ELECTRICITY; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; MEASURING; MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; NAVIGATION; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY; PHYSICS; SURVEYING; TESTING

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE RING RESONATOR An electromagnetic wave ring resonator is disclosed including means to spatially rotate the electromagnetic field distribution of waves resonant therein about the direction of propagation of such waves to enable such waves to resonate with opposite senses of circular polarization, and means, including a laser amplifier medium, to provide different indices of refraction to resonant waves of the same sense of circular polarization as they pass through such laser amplifier medium in different directions. With such arrangement the two mentioned means enable the waves to resonate with four different frequencies. In a laser gyroscope using such ring resonator the electromagnetic field distribution rotating means includes a catoptric arrangement which, together with the last-mentioned means, reduces the loss, scatter and linear birefringence associated with the ring resonator included in such gyroscope. The last-mentioned means produces the Zeeman effect in the laser medium and efficiently provides different optical pathlengths for waves passing through such medium because the magnetic field vector of such waves interacts with the precessing atomic magnetic dipoles of the amplifier medium at the emission frequency of such amplifier medium.