Displacement optimization of the path length control transducer for laser gyroscope by the finite element method

Abstract

The performance of the ring laser gyroscope (RLG) can be affected by variations of the optical path length, due to temperature change and other operation environment factors. This paper focuses on the optimization of the path length control (PLC) transducer to get the largest displacement of the grooved mirror by the finite element method (FEM). To verify the analysis results, a mode-scanning experiment is carried out. The experimental result shows agreement with that of the FEM analysis. We show that a careful selection of material and geometry parameters allows the displacement amplitude to be maximized as 6.48 μm, a value that is 3 times the displacement in the existing structure. A minimization of the number of mode reset is achieved, leading to an improvement of RLG performance.