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Abstract
We present high-reflectivity substrate-transferred single-crystal GaAs/AlGaAs interference coatings at a center wavelength of 4.54 μm with record-low excess optical loss below 10 parts per million. These high-performance mirrors are realized via a novel microfabrication process that differs significantly from the production of amorphous multilayers generated via physical vapor deposition processes. This new process enables reduced scatter loss due to the low surface and interfacial roughness, while low background doping in epitaxial growth ensures strongly reduced absorption. We report on a suite of optical measurements, including cavity ring-down, transmittance spectroscopy, and direct absorption tests to reveal the optical losses for a set of prototype mirrors. In the course of these measurements, we observe a unique polarization-orientation-dependent loss mechanism which we attribute to elastic anisotropy of these strained epitaxial multilayers. A future increase in layer count and a corresponding reduction of transmittance will enable optical resonators with a finesse in excess of 100 000 in the mid-infrared spectral region, allowing for advances in high resolution spectroscopy, narrow-linewidth laser stabilization, and ultrasensitive measurements of various light-matter interactions.
Highlights
High-performance mirrors are employed for the construction of optical resonators in a variety of applications in optics and photonics
We report on a suite of optical measurements, including cavity ring-down, transmittance spectroscopy, and direct absorption tests to reveal the optical losses for a set of prototype mirrors
A scheme for Doppler-free two-photon cavity ring-down spectroscopy (TP-CRDS) of N2O was demonstrated at 4.53 μm with a projected detection limit that was substantially better than currently available commercial gas analyzers [24] and its application to the sensitive and selective detection of 14CO2 has been proposed [25]
Summary
High-performance mirrors are employed for the construction of optical resonators in a variety of applications in optics and photonics. A scheme for Doppler-free two-photon cavity ring-down spectroscopy (TP-CRDS) of N2O was demonstrated at 4.53 μm with a projected detection limit that was substantially better than currently available commercial gas analyzers [24] and its application to the sensitive and selective detection of 14CO2 has been proposed [25] These immediate applications in trace gas and rare isotope detection using high-finesse optical resonators, as well as the previously mentioned potential applications in time-resolved spectroscopy, ultracold chemistry, and fundamental physics, make the advanced fabrication of ultralow-loss mid-IR mirrors of broad interest to the optics and photonics community
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