A Mode Selector to Suppress Fluctuations in Laser Beam Geometry

摘要: Our development of a gravitational wave detector requires Michelson interferometer extreme sensitivity capable measuring 10-16 m (i.e. some 10-10 wavelength λ the illuminating laser light). Even after painstaking alignment components, and considerable improvement stability, noise contributions much in excess this goal were observed, due partly to fluctuations beam geometry. The two most obvious types geometric are lateral jitter pulsation width; these lead spurious signals if interfering wavefronts misaligned their tilts or curvatures respectively. geometry can be considerably stabilized by passing it through an optical resonator. fluctuations, as viewed from resonator, described well-centred ground mode TEMoo, contaminated transverse modes TEM mn , with amplitudes decreasing rapidly mo...