Tenfold reduction of Brownian noise in high-reflectivity optical coatings

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, t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature photonics Vol. 7; no. 8; pp. 644 - 650
Main Authors: Cole, Garrett D., Zhang, Wei, Martin, Michael J., Ye, Jun, Aspelmeyer, Markus
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.08.2013
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:
639/301/1005
639/624/1020
639/766/930
Applied and Technical Physics
Coatings
Damping
Holes
Interferometers
Interferometry
Multilayers
Optical coatings
Photonics
Physics
Quantum Physics
Reduction
ISSN:1749-4885, 1749-4893
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary: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. By employing monocrystalline semiconductor materials as high-quality optical coatings, the long-standing challenge of minimizing the optical phase noise produced by Brownian motion in a multilayer has been overcome. A thermally limited noise floor consistent with a tenfold reduction in mechanical damping relative to that in the best dielectric multilayers is achieved.
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ISSN:1749-4885
1749-4893
DOI:10.1038/nphoton.2013.174