title: Cavity with a deformable mirror for tailoring the shape of the eigenmode.
abstract: We demonstrate an optical cavity that supports an eigenmode with a flattop spatial profile--a profile that has been proposed for the cavities in the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, the second-generation laser interferometric gravitational wave observatory--because it provides better averaging of the spatially dependent displacement noise on the surface of the mirror than a Gaussian beam. We describe the deformable mirror that we fabricated to tailor the shape of the eigenmode of the cavity and show that this cavity is a factor of 2 more sensitive to misalignments than a comparable cavity with spherical mirrors supporting an eigenmode with a Gaussian profile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, San José State University, California 95192-0106, USA. pbeyersdorf@science.sjsu.edu
authors.forename: Peter T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Beyersdorf
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zappe
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Fejer
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burkhardt