The sensitivities of current gravitational-wave detectors are limited around signal frequencies of 100 Hz by mirror thermal noise. One proposed option to reduce this thermal noise is to operate the detectors… Click to show full abstract
The sensitivities of current gravitational-wave detectors are limited around signal frequencies of 100 Hz by mirror thermal noise. One proposed option to reduce this thermal noise is to operate the detectors in a higher-order spatial laser mode. This operation would require a high-power laser input beam in such a spatial mode. Here, we discuss the generation of the Hermite–Gaussian modes HG2,2, HG3,3, and HG4,4 using one water-cooled spatial light modulator (SLM) at a continuous-wave optical input power of up to 85 W. We report unprecedented conversion efficiencies for a single SLM of about 43%, 42%, and 41%, respectively, and demonstrate that the SLM operation is robust against the high laser power. This is an important step toward the implementation of higher-order laser modes in future gravitational-wave detectors.
               
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