SPATIALLY-RESOLVED EIGENSTATES FOR TRAVELING AND STANDING WAVES IN RING LASERS

The spatially generalized Jones matrix formalism is applied to ring la sers with several propagation axes. Local spatial separation is theore tically and experimentally shown to be a convenient means for controll ing the coupling, frequencies, and oscillation regime of the eigenstat es of a ring laser. It is applied successively to four locally circula rly polarized eigenstates, four linearly polarized eigenstates, and a combination of two traveling-wave and one standing-wave Linearly polar ized eigenstates. In all cases, novel types of optical diodes based on either the Zeeman or the Faraday effect permit the selection of the d esired eigenstates. In particular, three kinds of ring laser gyroscope designs that incorporate these optical diodes are shown to The first two sustain two counterpropagating frequency-biased The third one exhi bits the Sagnac effect on a single traveling wave, the standing-wave e igenstate being used as a local oscillator. In all cases, fluctuations in the bias can be eliminated, and good agreement is observed between experiments and the predictions obtained from a spatially generalized Jones matrix formalism. circumvent the problem of frequency locking. traveling waves with orthogonal polarizations.