Oscillation regimes of a solid-state ring laser with active beat-note stabilization: From a chaotic device to a ring-laser gyroscope

We report an experimental and theoretical study of a rotating diode-pumped Nd-YAG ring laser with active beat-note stabilization. Our experimental setup is described in the usual Maxwell-Bloch formalism. We analytically derive a stability condition and some frequency response characteristics for the solid-state ring-laser gyroscope, illustrating the important role of mode coupling effects on the dynamics of such a device. Experimental data are presented and compared with the theory on the basis of realistic laser parameters, showing very good agreement. Our results illustrate the duality between the very rich nonlinear dynamics of the diode-pumped solid-state ring laser (including chaotic behavior) and the possibility to obtain a very stable beat note, resulting in a potentially new kind of rotation sensor.