Measurements of beam geometry fluctuations of typical argon-ion and Nd:YAG lasers with relevance to laser interferometer gravitational wave detectors

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The best sensitivity of a laser interferometric gravitational wave detector can only be achieved after considerable reduction is made in fluctuations of the geometry of the laser beam. Beam geometry fluctuations can be divided into four main types; lateral beam movement, tilt of the beam, variations in the beam width, and fluctuations in the beam curvature. Here we describe new techniques of measurement. The results for two types of laser beam geometry fluctuation—lateral movement and width fluctuation—for an argon‐ion laser and for a diode pumped monolithic ring Nd:YAG laser are presented.