Progress in Ring Laser Technology

K.U. Schreiber, A. Gebauer, Th. Klügel

Over the last year we have improved the technology by as much as a factor of 3, which makes the domain of ΔΩ/Ω ≈ 10^-9 of Earth rotation accessible to a local rotation sensor. As a result of these efforts eigenmodes of the Earth, excited by strong earthquakes have become observable.

Recent efforts concentrate on the extension of the sensor stability against a drift induced by atmospheric pressure variations and the corresponding temperature changes from adiabatic expansion and compression of the local air as well as a new approach in local sensor orientation effects. This talk outlines recent progress in Sagnac interferometry.