APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING ROTATION RATE AND DIRECTION OF ROTATION AND PROVIDING CAVITY LENGTH CONTROL IN MULTIOSCILLATOR RING LASER GYROSCOPES

摘要

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SENSING ROTATION RATE ANDDIRECTION OF ROTATION AND FOR CONTROLLING CAVITY LENGTHA multioscillator ring laser gyroscope including aframe that encloses a closed optical path in which fourcircularly polarized optical waves propagate. A combiningoptics system combining the waves to produce an interferencepattern. A pair of photodetectors placed in theinterference pattern in half quadrature relative to theinterference pattern so that the detectors produceoscillatory output signals that are in phase-quadrature witheach other. Processing signals indicative of the beatsignal in the interference pattern to determine the rotationrate, the direction of rotation and to provide a cavitylength control signal.