Dynamics of an all-optical atomic spin gyroscope

We present the transfer function of an all-optical atomic spin gyroscope through a series of differential equations and validate the transfer function by experimental test. A transfer function is the basis for further control system design. We build the differential equations based on a complete set of Bloch equations describing the all-optical atomic spin gyroscope, and obtain the transfer function through application of the Laplace transformation to these differential equations. Moreover, we experimentally validate the transfer function in an all-optical Cs-Xe-129 atomic spin gyroscope through a series of step responses. This transfer function is convenient for analysis of the form of control system required. Furthermore, it is available for the design of the control system specifically to improve the performance of all-optical atomic spin gyroscopes. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America