Piezo adjuster for compensating the thermal variations of the optical path length of the cavity of a laser gyroscope

摘要

This paper discusses the possibility of creating a piezo adjuster with passive thermal compensation elements to be used as part of a ring laser gyroscope to counteract thermal variations of the optical path length of the cavity. The dependence of the linear thermal expansion coefficient of glass-ceramic CO-115M is investigated. The paper presents the temperature dependences of the variation of the cavity perimeter when ideal and actual piezo adjusters are used. It is shown that passive thermal compensation can be achieved by varying the geometrical parameters of the piezoelectric actuator's structural elements that have various values of the linear thermal expansion coefficient.