Interferometric measurements of the position of a macroscopic body: Towards observation of quantum limits

I. Tittonen; G. Breitenbach; T. Kalkbrenner; T. Müller; R. Conradt; S. Schiller; E. Steinsland; N. Blanc; N. F. de Rooij

doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.59.1038

Interferometric measurements of the position of a macroscopic body: Towards observation of quantum limits

I. Tittonen, G. Breitenbach, T. Kalkbrenner, T. Müller, R. Conradt, S. Schiller, E. Steinsland, N. Blanc, and N. F. de Rooij

Phys. Rev. A 59, 1038 – Published 1 February 1999

Abstract

An optomechanical sensor suitable for the study of quantum effects has been developed and characterized. The sensor reads out the vibrations of a microfabricated miniature silicon mechanical oscillator which forms one end mirror of a high finesse Fabry-Pérot cavity. The mechanical quality factor is up to $Q = 300 000$ at 300 K and rises up to $Q = 4 \times 10^{6}$ at 4 K. The thermal noise of the oscillator has been measured in the time and frequency domains at room temperature and at 4.5 K. The prospects for observing the standard quantum limit are discussed.

Received 2 September 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.59.1038

Authors & Affiliations

I. Tittonen^*, G. Breitenbach, T. Kalkbrenner, T. Müller, R. Conradt, and S. Schiller^†,‡

Fakultät für Physik M696, Universität Konstanz, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany

E. Steinsland

Department of Physics, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway

N. Blanc^§ and N. F. de Rooij

Institute of Microtechnology, University of Neuchâtel, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland

^*Present address: Metrology Research Institute, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 3000, FIN-02015 HUT, Finland. Electronic address: ilkka.tittonen@hut.fi
^†FAX: +49-7531-883072. Electronic address: stephan.schiller@uni-konstanz.de
^‡URL: http://quantum-optics.physik.uni-konstanz.de
^§Present address: CSEM, Zürich, Image Sensing Group, Badenerstrasse 569, CH-8048 Zurich, Switzerland.

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Vol. 59, Iss. 2 — February 1999

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