Oscillation regimes of a solid-state ring laser with active beat note stabilization : from a chaotic device to a ring laser gyroscope

Sylvain Schwartz (1) , Gilles Feugnet (1) , Evguenii Lariontsev (2) , Jean-Paul Pocholle (1)

1 Thales Research and Technology [Palaiseau]
2 MSU - Lomonosov Moscow State University

We report experimental and theoretical study of a rotating diode-pumped Nd-YAG ring laser with active beat note stabilization. Our experimental setup is described in the usual Maxwell-Bloch formalism. We analytically derive a stability condition and some frequency response characteristics for the solid-state ring laser gyroscope, illustrating the important role of mode coupling effects on the dynamics of such a device. Experimental data are presented and compared with the theory on the basis of realistic laser parameters, showing a very good agreement. Our results illustrate the duality between the very rich non linear dynamics of the diode-pumped solid-state ring laser (including chaotic behavior) and the possibility to obtain a very stable beat note, resulting in a potentially new kind of rotation sensor.

Domaines: Optique [physics.optics]

Sylvain Schwartz, Gilles Feugnet, Evguenii Lariontsev, Jean-Paul Pocholle. Oscillation regimes of a solid-state ring laser with active beat note stabilization : from a chaotic device to a ring laser gyroscope. 2007. ⟨hal-00156347⟩