DESIGN OF A TRIANGULAR ACTIVE RING LASER 13 M ON A SIDE

The design and testing of a proof-of-principle triangular active ring laser interferometer similar to 13 m on a side is discussed. Issues su ch as lock in, multimode interference, mode hopping, and neon isotope mixtures are examined as they relate to large He-Ne ring lasers. Respo nses of the ring laser to Earth's rotation and perturbations that chan ge its tilt or area are presented. Some potential applications are sug gested for large interferometers. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.