Orientation of Nd$^{3+}$ dipoles in yttrium aluminum garnet: A simple yet accurate model

We report an experimental study of the 1064nm transition dipoles in neodymium doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd-YAG) by measuring the coupling constant between two orthogonal modes of a laser cavity for different cuts of the YAG gain crystal. We propose a theoretical model in which the transition dipoles, slightly elliptic, are oriented along the crystallographic axes. Our experimental measurements show a very good quantitative agreement with this model, and predict a dipole ellipticity between 2% and 3%. This work provides an experimental evidence for the simple description in which transition dipoles and crystallographic axes are collinear in Nd-YAG (with an accuracy better than 1 deg), a point that has been discussed for years.

Optimizing the electronic control loop of a solid-state ring laser gyroscope

We study in this Letter the dynamical effects of the limited bandwidth of the control electronics in a solid-state (Nd-YAG) ring laser gyroscope. We derive a stability condition for the rotation-sensing regime in the case of a first-order control loop, showing that the smallest measurable rotation speed depends directly on the cutoff frequency value. Our experimental measurements are in good agreement with this prediction.