Mid-infrared supermirrors with finesse exceeding 400 000.

For trace gas sensing and precision spectroscopy, optical cavities incorporating low-loss mirrors are indispensable for path length and optical intensity enhancement. Optical interference coatings in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions have achieved total optical losses below 2 parts per million (ppm), enabling a cavity finesse in excess of 1 million. However, such advancements have been lacking in the mid-infrared (MIR), despite substantial scientific interest. Here, we demonstrate a significant breakthrough in high-performance MIR mirrors, reporting substrate-transferred single-crystal interference coatings capable of cavity finesse values from 200 000 to 400 000 near 4.5 µm, with excess optical losses (scatter and absorption) below 5 ppm. In a first proof-of-concept demonstration, we achieve the lowest noise-equivalent absorption in a linear cavity ring-down spectrometer normalized by cavity length. This substantial improvement in performance will unlock a rich variety of MIR applications for atmospheric transport and environmental sciences, detection of fugitive emissions, process gas monitoring, breath-gas analysis, and verification of biogenic fuels and plastics.

Hybrid membrane-external-cavity surface-emitting laser.

We develop, analyze, and demonstrate an optically-pumped semiconductor disk laser using an active mirror architecture formed by sandwiching the semiconductor gain membrane between two heatspreaders, one of which is coated with a high-reflectivity multilayer. Thermal modeling indicates that this structure outperforms traditional VECSELs. Employing an InGaAs/GaAs MQW gain structure, we demonstrate output powers of approximately 30 W at a center wavelength of λ ≈ 1178 nm in a TEM00 mode using an in-well pumped geometry.

Measurement of quantum back action in the audio band at room temperature.

Quantum mechanics places a fundamental limit on the precision of continuous measurements. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle dictates that as the precision of a measurement of an observable (for example, position) increases, back action creates increased uncertainty in the conjugate variable (for example, momentum). In interferometric gravitational-wave detectors, higher laser powers reduce the position uncertainty created by shot noise (the photon-counting error caused by the quantum nature of the laser) but necessarily do so at the expense of back action in the form of quantum radiation pressure noise (QRPN)1. Once at design sensitivity, the gravitational-wave detectors Advanced LIGO2, VIRGO3 and KAGRA4 will be limited by QRPN at frequencies between 10 hertz and 100 hertz. There exist several proposals to improve the sensitivity of gravitational-wave detectors by mitigating QRPN5-10, but until now no platform has allowed for experimental tests of these ideas. Here we present a broadband measurement of QRPN at room temperature at frequencies relevant to gravitational-wave detectors. The noise spectrum obtained shows effects due to QRPN between about 2 kilohertz and 100 kilohertz, and the measured magnitude of QRPN agrees with our model. We now have a testbed for studying techniques with which to mitigate quantum back action, such as variational readout and squeezed light injection7, with the aim of improving the sensitivity of future gravitational-wave detectors.

The Macek and Davis experiment revisited: a large ring laser interferometer operating on the 2s2 → 2p4 transition of neon.

We operate a large helium-neon-based ring laser interferometer with single-crystal GaAs/AlGaAs optical coatings on the 2s2→2p4 transition of neon at a wavelength of 1.152276 µm. For either single longitudinal- or phase-locked multi-mode operation, the preferable gas composition for gyroscopic operation is 0.2 and 0.3 mbar of 50:50 neon with total pressures between 6-12 mbar. The Earth rotation bias is sufficient to unlock the device, yielding a Sagnac frequency of approximately 60 Hz.

Optical performance of large-area crystalline coatings.

Given their excellent optical and mechanical properties, substrate-transferred crystalline coatings are an exciting alternative to amorphous multilayers for applications in precision interferometry. The high mechanical quality factor of these single-crystal interference coatings reduces the limiting thermal noise in precision optical instruments such as reference cavities for narrow-linewidth laser systems and interferometric gravitational wave detectors. In this manuscript, we explore the optical performance of GaAs/AlGaAs crystalline coatings transferred to 50.8-mm (2-inch) diameter fused silica and sapphire substrates. We present results for the transmission, scattering, absorption, and surface quality of these prototype samples including the defect density and micro-roughness. These novel coatings exhibit optical performance on par with state-of-the-art dielectric structures, encouraging further work focused on the fabrication of larger optics using this technique.

Sensing earth's rotation with a helium-neon ring laser operating at 1.15 µm.

We report on the operation of a 2.56 m2 helium-neon based ring laser interferometer at a wavelength of 1.152276 µm using crystalline coated intracavity supermirrors. This work represents the first implementation of crystalline coatings in an active laser system and expands the core application area of these low-thermal-noise cavity end mirrors to inertial sensing systems. Stable gyroscopic behavior can only be obtained with the addition of helium to the gain medium as this quenches the 1.152502 µm (2s4→2p7) transition of the neon doublet which otherwise gives rise to mode competition. For the first time at this wavelength, the ring laser is observed to readily unlock on the bias provided by the earth's rotation alone, yielding a Sagnac frequency of approximately 59 Hz.