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Updated: Dec 3, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancing Knowledge in Far-From-Equilibrium Materials Through Light-Sheet Microscopy
Published on: January 26, 2024
Optics mounting and alignment for the central optical bench of the dual cavity enhanced light-shining-through-a-wall
Abstract:
Any Light Particle Search II (ALPS II) is a light-shining-through-a-wall experiment seeking axion-like particles. ALPS II will feature two 120 m long linear optical cavities that are separated by a wall and support the same photon mode. The central optical bench at the core of the experiment will be equipped with a light-tight shutter and two planar mirrors for the cavities. We show that the mounting concept for ALPS II provides sufficient angular stability and verify that a simple autocollimator assisted alignment procedure for crucial components of the ALPS II optical cavities can lead to the required overlap of the cavity eigenmodes. Furthermore, we show that mounted quadrant photodiodes added to the optical bench can have sufficient stability to maintain this overlap even without a clear line of sight between the two optical cavities.

