Related papers: Piezo-deformable Mirrors for Active Mode Matching …
The sensitivity of ground-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors will be improved in the future via the injection of frequency-dependent squeezed vacuum. The achievable improvement is ultimately limited by losses of the interferometer…
We present a new type of tunable mirror with sharply-featured freeform displacement profiles, large displacements of several 100\mu m and high operating frequencies close to the kHz range at 15mm diameter. The actuation principle is based…
The need for both high quality images and lightweight structures is one of the main drivers in space telescope design. An efficient wavefront control system will become mandatory in future large observatories, retaining performance while…
Gravitational Wave interferometers achieve their profound sensitivity by combining a Michelson interferometer with optical cavities, suspended masses, and now, squeezed quantum states of light. These states modify the measurement process of…
We report the results of a recent search for the lowest value of thermal noise that can be achieved in LIGO by changing the shape of mirrors, while fixing the mirror radius and maintaining a low diffractional loss. The result of this…
We present a high bandwidth piezoelectric-actuated mirror for length stabilization of an optical cavity. The actuator displays a transfer function with a flat amplitude response and greater than 135$^\circ$ phase margin up to 200 kHz,…
In the last decade, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the European Virgo observatory have opened a new observational window on the universe. These cavity-enhanced laser interferometers sense spacetime…
Optics for future X-ray telescopes will be characterized by very large aperture and focal length, and will be made of lightweight materials like glass or silicon in order to keep the total mass within acceptable limits. Optical modules…
The MagAO-X instrument is an upgrade of the Magellan AO system that will introduce extreme adaptive optics capabilities for high-contrast imaging at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. A central component of this system is a…
MOEMS Deformable Mirrors (DM) are key components for next generation instruments with innovative adaptive optics systems, in existing telescopes and in the future ELTs. These DMs must perform at room temperature as well as in cryogenic and…
The first detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in 2015 launched the era of gravitational wave astronomy. The quest for gravitational wave signals from objects that are fainter or…
Despite the emergence of new types of wavefront sensors, the modulated pyramid wavefront sensor remains the workhorse for ELT instrumentation, and is among the options even for advanced high-contrast, high-Strehl instrumentation like PCS…
We devise a laser-controlled adaptive optical element which operates intracavity under high intensity radiation. This element substitutes a conventional mechanically deformable mirror and is free of critical heat-sensitive components and…
We describe an optical simulation program that models a complete, coupled-cavity interferometer like those used by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Project. A wide variety of interferometer deformations can be…
Deformable mirrors with very high order correction generally have smaller dynamic range of motion than what is required to correct seeing over large aperture telescopes. As a result, systems will need to have an architecture that employs…
As the first generation of laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors near operation, research and development has begun on increasing the instrument's sensitivity while utilizing the existing infrastructure. In the Laser…
Using a quantum mechanical approach, we show that in a gravitational-wave interferometer composed of arm cavities and a signal recycling cavity, e.g., the LIGO-II configuration, the radiation-pressure force acting on the mirrors not only…
The French-Italian interferometric gravitational wave detector VIRGO is currently being commissioned. Its principal instrument is a Michelson laser interferometer with 3 km long optical cavities in the arms and a power-recycling mirror. The…
We present a piezo-driven translatable mirror with excellent pointing stability, capable of driving at frequencies up to tens of kilohertz. Our system uses a tripod of piezo actuators with independently controllable drive voltages, where…
Interferometric gravitational-wave detectors like LIGO need to be able to measure changes in their arm lengths of order $10^{-18}~$m or smaller. This requires very high laser power in order to raise the signal above shot noise. One…