Method and device for detecting propagation time variations in a ring interferometer and application thereof to wave length control

Abstract

A method and corresponding device, are provided for detecting the propagation time variations in the ring of an interferometer and includes phase modulation of the contrarotating waves travelling through the ring by means of assymetric square waves at a period twice the initial propagation time, which create level zero phase shift stretches in the modulation of the difference between the two waves emerging from the ring. These level stretches result in pulses in the detected output signal whose width is variable with the propagation time. The invention applies particularly to the control of the wave length of the source of the interferometer, particularly with respect to temperature variations of the source.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.