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Mirror Coating Solution for the Cryogenic Einstein Telescope

Kieran Craig, Jessica Steinlechner, Peter G. Murray, Angus S. Bell, Ross Birney, Karen Haughian, Jim Hough, Ian MacLaren, Steve Penn, Stuart Reid, Raymond Robie, Sheila Rowan, and Iain W. Martin
Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 231102 – Published 13 June 2019
Physics logo See Synopsis: Mirror, Mirror—Which Coating is the Quietest of Them All

Abstract

Planned cryogenic gravitational-wave detectors will require improved coatings with a strain thermal noise reduced by a factor of 25 compared to Advanced LIGO. We present investigations of HfO2 doped with SiO2 as a new coating material for future detectors. Our measurements show an extinction coefficient of k=6×106 and a mechanical loss of ϕ=3.8×104 at 10 K, which is a factor of 2 below that of SiO2, the currently used low refractive-index coating material. These properties make HfO2 doped with SiO2 ideally suited as a low-index partner material for use with a-Si in the lower part of a multimaterial coating. Based on these results, we present a multimaterial coating design which, for the first time, can simultaneously meet the strict requirements on optical absorption and thermal noise of the cryogenic Einstein Telescope.

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  • Received 11 December 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.231102

© 2019 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

  1. Physical Systems
  1. Techniques
Gravitation, Cosmology & AstrophysicsAtomic, Molecular & Optical

Synopsis

Key Image

Mirror, Mirror—Which Coating is the Quietest of Them All

Published 13 June 2019

Gravitational-wave detectors may benefit from an alternative coating material that is less noisy at low temperatures than currently used materials.

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Authors & Affiliations

Kieran Craig1, Jessica Steinlechner1,2, Peter G. Murray1, Angus S. Bell1, Ross Birney3, Karen Haughian1, Jim Hough1, Ian MacLaren1, Steve Penn4, Stuart Reid3, Raymond Robie1, Sheila Rowan1, and Iain W. Martin1,*

  • 1SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
  • 2Institut für Laserphysik und Zentrum für Optische Quantentechnologien, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
  • 3SUPA, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1QE, United Kingdom
  • 4Department of Physics, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York 14456, USA

  • *iain.martin@glasgow.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 122, Iss. 23 — 14 June 2019

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