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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Lock acquisition of a gravitational-wave interferometer
Abstract:
Interferometric gravitational-wave detectors, such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors currently under construction, are based on kilometer-scale Michelson interferometers, with sensitivity that is enhanced by addition of multiple coupled optical resonators. Reducing the relative optic motions to bring the system to the resonant operating point is a significant challenge. We present a new approach to lock acquisition, used to lock a LIGO interferometer, whereby the sensor transformation matrix is dynamically calculated to sequentially bring the cavities into resonance.
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