Projects per year
Abstract
We present an optical walk-off sensor with an angular sensitivity of a few nrad/Hz above 1 mHz and 0.4 nrad/Hz above 100 mHz. This experiment furthers previous research into the walk-off sensor capabilities through an improved input laser, reduction in air optical travel length, and position control on photo-diodes. The angle change measured in this walk-off scheme features a knife edge to split the beam into two separate fiber coupled photo-diodes to minimize power dissipation in the thermally sensitive region. Using this photo-diode power differential as an error signal, a simple control scheme is used to maintain the balance position, increasing common mode rejection and improving dynamic range by mitigating thermal drift. The in-vacuum component of the optical readout takes up a volume less than 100 mm × 100 mm × 50 mm. This experiment shows that the walk-off sensor provides a simple and compact readout scheme with nanoradian sensitivity for angle sensing at low frequencies.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 045005 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Review of Scientific Instruments |
Volume | 90 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2019 |
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Projects
- 1 Active
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ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery
Bailes, M., McClelland, D., Levin, Y., Blair, D., Scott, S., Ottaway, D., Melatos, A., Veitch, P., Wen, L., Zhao, C., Ju, L. & Coward, D.
1/01/17 → 31/12/23
Project: Research