Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Richard, Jean-Paul.
The effects of acoustic perturbations on an optical fiber intended to link a laser to an optical cavity have been studied. Acoustic noise above the level of -45 dBre (1 microbar) in the frequency band of 500-1500 Hz has a measurable effect on intensity fluctuations at the fiber's output.
The effects of acoustic perturbations on an optical fiber that links a stabilized laser to its reference cavity are studied. An extrapolation indicates that 69 dB of acoustic noise impinging on a 1-m segment of the 10-m fiber contribute frequency noise at the level of 1 Hz/(Hz)1/2 in the 1100-2100-Hz band.
High-reflectivity supermirrors were used to produce a Fabry-Perot cavity that operated at cryogenic temperatures. The best finesse below 80 K was found to be 19,000 and remained constant down to 4.2 K.
A very important research effort has been made in the last decade in the field of high precision measurement with laser instrumentation. The development of a space borne gradiometer operating at a high sensitivity level using laser measurement of the distance between proof mass over a short base line of order one meter is discussed. Two aspects of laser technology make it a promising tool for gradiometry measurements: quantum limited accuracy and absolute distance measurements. The quantum limit associated with laser instrumentation was formulated. The relevant quantum and classical sources of errors in laser measurements were reviewed and corresponding laser performance requirements for gradient measurements were evaluated. Some mechanical quality factor measurements were made on simple resonant monocrystalline silicon suspensions. It was discovered that the use of zero derivative restoring forces to position the gradiometer test masses will dramatically reduce the gradiometer temperature control requirements. A laser beam side injection scheme was discovered which permits rejection of common mode accelerations. These concepts are briefly discussed.