Ring laser gyroscope with offset aperture

Abstract

A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) employs an offset aperture for attenuating undesired modes of laser propagation therein. The RLG includes a block having a ring laser cavity containing a lasing gas, the cavity being substantially in the shape of a polygon having at least three sides and at least three vertices formed by the intersection of sides of the polygonal cavity. At least three mirrors are provided, equal in number to the number of vertices and positioned at the vertices to create a resonant ring laser having a polygonal ring path in the shape of the polygon. An aperture is provided in the ring laser cavity for attenuating undesired modes of laser propagation in the polygonal ring path of the laser. The aperture has an axis that is horizontally offset from a central axis of the polygonal ring path of the laser.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.