Abstract
A two-oscillator transducer incorporating a laser-illuminated Fabry–Perot cavity with a finesse of 77,500 and a power dissipation of 1.2 μW was tested at room temperature. The energy of the last resonator with a mass of 1.25 g was measured to be kBT within 8%, and no back action from the sensor could be detected. The lowest value of the noise measured away from resonance was , and the electronic noise was . That transducer is designed for a 2400-kg gravitational wave antenna operating at cryogenic temperatures. At 4.2 K and for mechanical quality factors of 3 × 106, the measured thermal and electronic noise levels would translate into a sensitivity in h equal to 7.0 × 10−19 and 1.5 × 10−19, respectively.
© 1995 Optical Society of America
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