RING LASER GYROSCOPE FRINGE DETECTOR APPARATUS WITH RADIATION PHOTOCURRENT COMPENSATION

Abstract

A ring laser gyroscope radiation-resistant detector lens system for mounting on a ring laser gyroscope body having a resonant cavity. The ring laser gyroscope body has CW and CCW counterpropagating light beams propagating in a plane normal to the rate input axis of the ring laser gyroscope. The ring laser gyroscope detector lens system comprises a means for extracting a component of each of the CW and a CCW light beams from the cavity and for combining the extracted CW and CCW beams to form a substantially circular interference light source. A planar array of detector element receives light from an objective lens means responsive to the interference light source. The objective lens means is a cylindrical lens that forms an elliptically-shaped interference light source pattern on a first and second adjacent pair of detectors in an array of four detector elements. A bias and amplification means is provided for conditioning each of the detectors in the array to be independently responsive to incident light intensity and to recurrent-transient gamma-radiation. The amplification means is further characterized to provide a detector output signal for each of said first and second detector elements in response to the incident light intensity penetrating a predetermined threshold. The phase relationship between the detector output signals and the repetition rate of the detector output signals characterize the rotational polarity and rotational rate of the ring laser gyroscope body on the input axis. The third and fourth detector elements are positioned to produce photo-currents to cancel the photo currents produced by said first and second detector elements in response to the recurrent transient gamma-radiation.

Source: Google Patents

35 USC §181 Secrecy Order

Inventor

• 1TIMOTHY L. HOWARD

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