Abstract
We present an optical cavity design that is insensitive to both vibrations and orientation. The design is based on a spherical cavity spacer that is held rigidly at two points on a diameter of the sphere. Coupling of the support forces to the cavity length is reduced by holding the sphere at a "squeeze insensitive angle" with respect to the optical axis. Finite element analysis is used to calculate the acceleration sensitivity of the spherical cavity for the ideal geometry as well as for several varieties of fabrication errors. The measured acceleration sensitivity for an initial, sub-ideal version of the mounted cavity is 4.0(5)×10(-11)/g, 1.6(3)×10(-10)/g, and 3.1(1)×10(-10)/g (where g = 9.81 m/s2) for accelerations along the vertical and two horizontal directions, and the fractional frequency stability of a laser locked to the cavity is 1.2×10(-15) between 0.4 and 13 s. This low acceleration sensitivity combined with the orientation insensitivity that comes with a rigid mount indicates that this cavity design could allow frequency stable lasers to operate in non-laboratory environments.
Highlights
Frequency stable lasers [1] are useful tools with applications in optical frequency standards [2], gravitational wave detection [3], and tests of fundamental physics [4]
We present an optical cavity design that is insensitive to both vibrations and orientation
The acceleration sensitivity measured for a spherical cavity (SC) mounted with Viton o-ring contacts is one or two orders of magnitude larger than the acceleration sensitivity calculated by use of finite element analysis (FEA) for a SC mounted with ultra low expansion (ULE) contacts
Summary
Frequency stable lasers [1] are useful tools with applications in optical frequency standards [2], gravitational wave detection [3], and tests of fundamental physics [4]. Frequency stable lasers have been constrained to operate in low-noise laboratory environments due primarily to vibration and orientation sensitivity. Sitive [9,10,11,12,13,14,15] These designs use symmetries of the cavity spacer to suppress the acceleration sensitivity and hold the spacer with a soft mount that serves to equalize the forces at each support point as well as low-pass filter the vibrations. Often the spacer rests on rubber pads and is held in place by gravity These cavities have achieved acceleration sensitivities as low as 10−10/g, but they will not work in a field environment because their mounts are too soft to maintain alignment for accelerations greater than 1 g or changes in orientation with respect to gravity.
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