Room-temperature tests of an optical transducer for resonant gravitational wave detectors

A two-oscillator transducer incorporating a laser-illuminated Fabry-Perot cavity with a finesse of 77,500 and a power dissipation of 1.2 µW was tested at room temperature. The energy of the last resonator with a mass of 1.25 g was measured to be k(B)T within 8%, and no back action from the sensor could be detected. The lowest value of the noise measured away from resonance was 1.0 × 10(-15)m/√Hz, and the electronic noise was 3.2 × 10(-17) m/√Hz. That transducer is designed for a 2400-kg gravitational wave antenna operating at cryogenic temperatures. At 4.2 K and for mechanical quality factors of 3 × 10(6), the measured thermal and electronic noise levels would translate into a sensitivity in h equal to 7.0 × 10 (-19) and 1.5 × 10(-19), respectively.