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Free keywords:
Physics, Optics, physics.optics
Abstract:
The sensitivity of laser interferometers can be pushed into regimes that
enable the direct observation of quantum behaviour of mechanical oscillators.
In the past, membranes with subwavelength thickness (thin films) have been
proposed as high-mechanical-quality, low-thermal-noise oscillators. Thin films
from a homogenous material, however, generally show considerable light
transmission accompanied by heating due to light absorption, which typically
reduces the mechanical quality and limits quantum opto-mechanical experiments
in particular at low temperatures. In this work, we experimentally analyze a
Michelson-Sagnac interferometer including a translucent silicon nitride (SiN)
membrane with subwavelength thickness. We find that such an interferometer
provides an operational point being optimally suited for quantum
opto-mechanical experiments with translucent oscillators. In case of a balanced
beam splitter of the interferometer, the membrane can be placed at a node of
the electro-magnetic field, which simultaneously provides lowest absorption and
optimum laser noise rejection at the signal port. We compare the optical and
mechanical model of our interferometer with experimental data and confirm that
the SiN membrane can be coupled to a laser power of the order of one Watt at
1064 nm without significantly degrading the membrane's quality factor of the
order 10^6, at room temperature.
