A geometrically scalable method for manufacturing high quality factor mechanical resonators

authored by: Pascal Birckigt, Jonathan J. Carter, Sina M. Koehlenbeck, Gilbert Leibeling, Stefan Risse
Abstract: We present what we believe to be a novel, geometrically scalable manufacturing method for creating compact, low-resonance frequency, and high quality factor fused silica resonators. These resonators are intended to be used in inertial sensors for measuring external disturbances of sensitive physics experiments. The novel method uses direct bonding and chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) in order to overcome the limitations of current subtractive manufacturing methods, which face prohibitive cost and complexity as material removal increases, inherently restricting the design flexibility of the resonator. We demonstrate a prototype with a test mass of only 3 g that reaches a quality factor of Q = 118 000 ± 400 at a resonance frequency of below 20 Hz. This advancement is particularly significant for future gravitational wave observatories, such as the Einstein Telescope.
Organisation(s): Institute of Gravitation Physics
External Organisation(s): Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF)
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)
Stanford University
Type: Article
Journal: Optics Letters
Volume: 49
Pages: 6269-6272
No. of pages: 4
ISSN: 0146-9592
Publication date: 01.11.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.542065 (Access: Closed)

BibTeX

@article{050548a393ec41fb913af5ec0fe6a896,
title = "A geometrically scalable method for manufacturing high quality factor mechanical resonators",
abstract = "We present what we believe to be a novel, geometrically scalable manufacturing method for creating compact, low-resonance frequency, and high quality factor fused silica resonators. These resonators are intended to be used in inertial sensors for measuring external disturbances of sensitive physics experiments. The novel method uses direct bonding and chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) in order to overcome the limitations of current subtractive manufacturing methods, which face prohibitive cost and complexity as material removal increases, inherently restricting the design flexibility of the resonator. We demonstrate a prototype with a test mass of only 3 g that reaches a quality factor of Q = 118 000 ± 400 at a resonance frequency of below 20 Hz. This advancement is particularly significant for future gravitational wave observatories, such as the Einstein Telescope.",
author = "Pascal Birckigt and Carter, {Jonathan J.} and Koehlenbeck, {Sina M.} and Gilbert Leibeling and Stefan Risse",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 Optica Publishing Group.",
year = "2024",
month = nov,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1364/OL.542065",
language = "English",
volume = "49",
pages = "6269--6272",
journal = "Optics Letters",
issn = "0146-9592",
publisher = "OSA - The Optical Society",
number = "21",
}