Eliminating ring laser gyro backscatter

A method to prevent lock-in due to temperature changes of a ring laser gyroscope block in a ring laser gyroscope, the method comprising:

• preparing the ring laser gyroscope block so at least one of:
• a first shifting element is operable to shift a first corner of at least three corners of the ring laser gyroscope block laterally in a lasing plane of the ring laser gyroscope block and perpendicular to a first normal of a reflective surface of a first mirror associated with the first corner;
• and
• a second shifting element is operable to shift a second corner of the at least three corners of the ring laser gyroscope block laterally in the lasing plane and perpendicular to a second normal of a reflective surface of a second mirror associated with the second corner,
• wherein, when at least three respective mirrors, including the first mirror and the second mirror, are arranged at the at least three corners of the ring laser gyroscope block to support counter-propagating optical laser beams in the lasing plane, and when the ring laser gyroscope block one of thermally expands or thermally contracts due to a temperature change, then:
• a first-incidence-spot of a first mirror is maintained during one of a thermal expansion or a thermal contraction of the ring laser gyroscope block;
• and
• a second-incidence-spot of a second mirror is maintained during the one of the thermal expansion or the thermal contraction of the ring laser gyroscope block, wherein a vector summation of counter-clockwise backscattered waves from the at least three mirrors remains constant during the temperature change.

A ring laser gyroscope, comprising:

• at least one ring laser gyroscope optical source;
• ring laser gyroscope circuits configured to process at least one optical beam output from a ring laser gyroscope block to determine a rate of rotation of the ring laser gyroscope;
• the ring laser gyroscope block having at least three corners the ring laser gyroscope block configured to input at least one optical beam from the at least one ring laser gyroscope optical source;
• and
• at least three mirrors positioned at the respective at least three corners, wherein a first mirror is configured to move inward in the direction of a first normal of a reflective surface of the first mirror by a first amount while a second mirror is configured to simultaneously move outward in the direction of a second normal of a reflective surface of the second mirror by the first amount,
• wherein the at least three mirrors are arranged to support propagation of two counter-propagating optical laser beams in a lasing plane of the ring laser gyroscope block, and
• wherein the ring laser gyroscope block includes at least one of:
• a first shifting element configured to shift a first corner laterally in the lasing plane in a direction perpendicular to the first normal of the reflective surface of the first mirror based on the temperature change;
• and
• a second shifting element configured to shift a second corner laterally in the lasing plane in a direction perpendicular to the second normal of the reflective surface of the second mirror based on the temperature change, wherein a first-incidence-spot of the first mirror and a second-incidence-spot of the second mirror are unchanged by the temperature change.