title: Diffractively coupled Fabry-Perot resonator with power-recycling.
abstract: We demonstrate the optical coupling of two cavities without light transmission through a substrate. As the all-reflective coupling component, we use a dielectric low-efficiency 3-port diffraction grating. In contrast to a conventional transmissive coupling component, such an all-reflective coupler avoids all thermal effects that are associated with light absorption in the substrate. An all-reflective scheme for cavity coupling is of interest in the field of gravitational wave detection. In such detectors light that is resonantly enhanced inside the so-called power-recycling cavity is coupled to (kilometre-scale) Fabry-Perot resonators representing the arms of a Michelson interferometer. We realized such an all-reflective coupling in a table-top experiment. Our findings are in qualitative agreement with the theoretical model incorporating the characteristics of the 3-port grating used, and therefore encourage the application of all-reflective cavity couplers in future gravitational wave detectors.
authors.affiliation: Albert-Einstein-Institut, Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik and Leibniz Universität Hannover, Callinstr 38, 30167 Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Britzger
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kroker
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brückner
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Burmeister
authors.forename: Ernst-Bernhard
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Kley
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tünnermann
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Danzmann
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schnabel
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D006112:Gravitation; D007368:Interferometry / Q000379:methods*; D007834:Lasers; D008027:Light; D015233:Models, Statistical; D055095:Optics and Photonics