Abstract

For Michelson-type gravitational wave detectors a strain sensitivity of at least 10^-21 is desired. This ultra-high sensitivity places challengingly high performance requirements on the laser light source. The laser has to work at high power levels in single-frequency operation (tens of Watts) with excellent frequency stability (FM-noise < 3·10^-7Hz/√Hz), and intensity noise as close as possible to the quantum noise limit. Beyond that, the lifetime of this system must be in the range of several 10.000h at low operational costs. We report on the development towards a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser system, based on the injection locking technique, that fulfills these requirements.

© 1996 IEEE