Aspects of Sitall SO-115M Use in the Fabrication of the Optical Components of He–Ne Ring Lasers

Abstract

The results of studying the effect of filamentary striae with birefringence 3 to 15 nm/cm in sitall [glass-ceramic] SO-115M on the quality of manufacturing of optical components of ring lasers and the accuracy characteristics of laser gyroscopes based on them are presented. It is shown that the presence of streaks with stresses not exceeding 15 nm/cm in sitall SO-115M does not affect the manufacturing accuracy of the resonator optical circuit and its assembly quality. The streaks in the output mirror of a ring laser serve as a source of additional backscattering and can increase the lock-in zone width. Proper adjustment of the output mirror makes it possible to reduce the amount of scattering and minimize the growth of the lock-in zone in a laser gyroscope. It is shown that the accuracy of a laser gyroscope is determined by the quality of the mirror substrates, the body geometry, and the level of backscattering inside the resonator.