Tenfold reduction of Brownian noise in high-reflectivity optical coatings

Autor(en)

Garrett D. Cole, Wei Zhang, Michael J. Martin, Jun Ye, Markus Aspelmeyer

Abstrakt

Thermally induced fluctuations impose a fundamental limit on precision measurement. In optical interferometry, the current bounds of stability and sensitivity are dictated by the excess mechanical damping of the high-reflectivity coatings that comprise the cavity end mirrors. Over the last decade, the dissipation of these amorphous multilayer reflectors has at best been reduced by a factor of two. Here, we demonstrate a new paradigm in optical coating technology based on direct-bonded monocrystalline multilayers, which exhibit both intrinsically low mechanical loss and high optical quality. Employing these ‘crystalline coatings’ as end mirrors in a Fabry–Pérot cavity, we obtain a finesse of 150,000. More importantly, at room temperature, we observe a thermally limited noise floor consistent with a tenfold reduction in mechanical damping when compared with the best dielectric multilayers. These results pave the way for the next generation of ultra-sensitive interferometers, as well as for new levels of laser stability.

Organisation(en)

Quantenoptik, Quantennanophysik und Quanteninformation

Externe Organisation(en)

U.S. Department of Commerce, University of Colorado, Boulder

Journal

Nature Photonics

Band

7

Seiten

644-650

Anzahl der Seiten

7

ISSN

1749-4885

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1038/NPHOTON.2013.174

Publikationsdatum

08-2013

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

1030 Physik, Astronomie, 103021 Optik, 103008 Experimentalphysik, 103025 Quantenmechanik

Schlagwörter

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/458cda1e-84f4-48fe-a6eb-ee8f99f74936