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Free keywords:
Physics, Optics, physics.optics
Abstract:
We report on the first experimental realization of a high-reflectivity cavity
mirror that solely consists of a single silicon crystal. Since no material was
added to the crystal, the urgent problem of 'coating thermal noise' that
currently limits classical as well as quantum measurements is avoided. Our
mirror is based on a surface nanostructure that creates a resonant surface
waveguide. In full agreement with a rigorous model we realized a reflectivity
of (99.79+/-0.01)% at a wavelength of 1.55 {\mu}m, and achieved a cavity
finesse of 2784. We anticipate that our achievement will open the avenue to
next generation high-precision experiments targeting fundamental questions of
physics.