Tenfold reduction of Brownian noise in high-reflectivity optical coatings
- Author(s)
- Garrett D. Cole, Wei Zhang, Michael J. Martin, Jun Ye, Markus Aspelmeyer
- Abstract
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(s)
- Quantum Optics, Quantum Nanophysics and Quantum Information
- External organisation(s)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, University of Colorado, Boulder
- Journal
- Nature Photonics
- Volume
- 7
- Pages
- 644-650
- No. of pages
- 7
- ISSN
- 1749-4885
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/NPHOTON.2013.174
- Publication date
- 08-2013
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 1030 Physics, Astronomy, 103021 Optics, 103008 Experimental physics, 103025 Quantum mechanics
- Keywords
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/tenfold-reduction-of-brownian-noise-in-highreflectivity-optical-coatings(458cda1e-84f4-48fe-a6eb-ee8f99f74936).html