Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 11: Präzisionsmessungen und Metrologie 2
Q 11.3: Talk
Monday, March 12, 2012, 15:00–15:15, V7.03
Status of the AEI 10m Prototype facility for interferomtry studies — •Tobias Westphal for the AEI 10m prototype — Max-Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institut) and Centre for Quantum Engineering and Space-Time Research, Leibniz University Hannover
A 10 m Prototype facility for interferometry studies is currently being set up at the AEI in Hannover, Germany. Among the main objectives are the demonstration of novel techniques for future generations of GW detectors, as well as building an instrument operating at and beyond the standard quantum limit of interferometry for 100 g test masses. Inside a large (ca. 100 m3) ultra-high vacuum envelope, three passively seismically isolated optical tables provide a pre-isolated platform for experiments. The differential motion of these tables will be stabilized via a set of Mach-Zehnder interferometers. All relevant optical components will be mounted on top of these isolated tables by means of multiple-cascaded pendulum suspensions. A suspended triangular ring cavity with a finesse of ca. 7300 will, in conjunction with a molecular iodine reference, serve as a frequency reference for the stabilization of the 35 W Nd:YAG laser. The main instrument is a 10 m Michelson interferometer with Fabry-Perot cavities in the arms. The end mirrors will be made of Khalili-style Fabry-Perot cavities to minimise the effective coating thermal noise. The design of the interferometer is done such that the sum of all classical noises lies well below the sum of quantum noise in a frequency band around 100 Hz. The layout, status, and progress of the AEI 10m prototype will be given in this talk.