Related papers: Temperature induced optical scatter changes in tit…
Upgrades to ground-based gravitational-wave observatories will require mirror coatings with reduced thermal noise, enabling improved detector sensitivity and extended astrophysical reach. Recent studies have shown that optical coatings…
Optical coatings formed from amorphous oxide thin films have many applications in precision measurements. The Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Advanced Virgo use coatings of SiO$_2$ (silica) and…
We present the results of mechanical characterizations of many different high-quality optical coatings made of ion-beam-sputtered titania-doped tantala and silica, developed originally for interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. Our…
Reducing thermal noise from optical coatings is crucial to reaching the required sensitivity in next generation interferometric gravitational-waves detectors. Here we show that adding TiO$_2$ to Ta$_2$O$_5$ in Ta$_2$O$_5$/SiO$_2$ coatings…
The current generation of advanced gravitational wave detectors utilize titania-doped tantala/silica multilayer stacks for their mirror coatings. The properties of the low-refractive-index silica are well known; however, in the absence of…
Annealing of amorphous optical coatings has been shown to generally reduce optical absorption, optical scattering, and mechanical loss, with higher temperature annealing giving better results. The achievable maximum temperatures are limited…
Coating thermal noise is a fundamental limit for precision experiments based on optical and quantum transducers. In this review, after a brief overview of the techniques for coating thermal noise measurements, we present the latest…
Multimaterial optical coatings are a promising viable option to meet the challenging requirements (in terms of transmittance, absorbance and thermal noise) of next generation gravitational wave detector mirrors. In this paper we focus on…
High-reflectivity fused silica mirrors are at the epicentre of current advanced gravitational wave detectors. In these detectors, the mirrors interact with high power laser beams. As a result of finite absorption in the high reflectivity…
We report on the development and extensive characterization of co-sputtered tantala-zirconia thin films, with the goal to decrease coating Brownian noise in present and future gravitational-wave detectors. We tested a variety of sputtering…
We report on thermal noise from the internal friction of dielectric coatings made from alternating layers of Ta2O5 and SiO2 deposited on fused silica substrates. We present calculations of the thermal noise in gravitational wave…
In germanium-based light detectors for scintillating bolometers, a SiO$_2$ anti-reflective coating is often applied on the side of the germanium wafer exposed to light with the aim to improve its light collection efficiency. In this paper,…
Future gravitational wave detectors (GWDs) such as Advanced LIGO upgrades and the Einstein Telescope are planned to operate at cryogenic temperatures using crystalline silicon (cSi) test-mass mirrors at an operation wavelength of 1550 nm.…
The sensitivity of current and planned gravitational wave interferometric detectors is limited, in the most critical frequency region around 100 Hz, by a combination of quantum noise and thermal noise. The latter is dominated by Brownian…
Brownian thermal noise associated with highly-reflective mirror coatings is a fundamental limit for several precision experiments, including gravitational-wave detectors. Recently, there has been a worldwide effort to find mirror coatings…
We report on the results of an extensive campaign of optical and mechanical characterization of the ion-beam sputtered oxide layers (Ta$_2$O$_5$, TiO$_2$, Ta$_2$O$_5$-TiO$_2$, SiO$_2$) within the high-reflection coatings of the Advanced…
In modern high precision optical instruments, such as in gravitational wave detectors or frequency references, thermally induced fluctuations in the reflective coatings can be a limiting noise source. This noise, known as coating thermal…
Thermodynamically induced length fluctuations of high-reflectivity mirror coatings put a fundamental limit on sensitivity and stability of precision optical interferometers like gravitational wave detectors and ultra-stable lasers. The main…
We report on the optical, mechanical and structural characterization of the sputtered coating materials of Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo and KAGRA gravitational-waves detectors. We present the latest results of our research program aiming…
The utilization and engineering of thermo-optic effects have found broad applications in integrated photonic devices, facilitating efficient light manipulation to achieve various functionalities. Here, we perform both an experimental…