Abstract
A mechanical force sensor coupled to two optical cavities is developed as a metrological tool. This system is used to generate a calibrated circulating optical power and to create a transfer standard for externally coupled optical power. The variability of the sensor as a transfer standard for optical power is less than 2%. The uncertainty in using the sensor to measure the circulating power inside the cavity is less than 3%. The force measured from the mechanical response of the sensor is compared to the force predicted from characterizing the optical spectrum of the cavity. These two forces are approximately 20% different. Potential sources for this disagreement are analyzed and discussed. The sensor is compact, portable, and can operate in ambient and vacuum environments. This device provides a pathway to novel nanonewton scale force and milliwatt scale laser power calibrations, enables direct measurement of the circulating power inside an optical cavity, and enhances the sensitivity of radiation pressure-based optical power transfer standards.
Highlights
The phenomenon of light reflection from a surface links optical power and force
The sensor is compact, portable, and can operate in ambient and vacuum environments. This device provides a pathway to novel nanonewton scale force and milliwatt scale laser power calibrations, enables direct measurement of the circulating power inside an optical cavity, and enhances the sensitivity of radiation pressure-based optical power transfer standards
Force predicted from circulating power and radiation pressure (Eq (6) and Eq (14)) has been compared to force measured by the force transducer (Eq (1) and Eq (2)) for 2 different flexure optical cavity systems and a total of 18 experimental repeats
Summary
The phenomenon of light reflection from a surface links optical power and force. In classical electromagnetism this connection manifests as the radiation pressure force and was first experimentally quantified in the early 1900s with the Nichols radiometer [1]. The variability of the sensor in measuring circulating power inside the cavity is less than 3% These uncertainties are similar to existing systems that link optical power and force without a cavity [2,3,4,5,9]. The addition of an optical cavity to the metrological system enables novel applications that systems lacking a cavity cannot duplicate Such applications include measuring the optical power inside the optical cavity and amplifying the power from a given light sources as it interacts with the force transducer.
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