Structure and morphology of low mechanical loss TiO₂-doped Ta₂O₅

The exceptional stability required from high finesse optical cavities and high precision interferometers is fundamentally limited by Brownian motion noise in the interference coatings of the cavity mirrors. In amorphous oxide coatings these thermally driven fluctuations are dominant in the high index layer compared to those in the low index SiO₂ layer in the stack. We present a systematic study of the evolution of the structural and optical properties of ion beam sputtered TiO₂-doped Ta₂O₅ films with annealing temperature. We show that low mechanical loss in TiO₂-doped Ta₂O₅ with a Ti cation ratio = 0.27 is associated with a material that consists of a homogeneous titanium-tantalum-oxygen mixture containing a low density of nanometer sized Ar-filled voids. When the Ti cation ratio is 0.53, phase separation occurs leading to increased mechanical loss. These results suggest that amorphous mixed oxides with low mechanical loss could be identified by considering the thermodynamics of ternary phase formation

Structure and morphology of low mechanical loss TiO₂-doped Ta₂O₅

The exceptional stability required from high finesse optical cavities and high precision interferometers is fundamentally limited by Brownian motion noise in the interference coatings of the cavity mirrors. In amorphous oxide coatings these thermally driven fluctuations are dominant in the high index layer compared to those in the low index SiO₂ layer in the stack. We present a systematic study of the evolution of the structural and optical properties of ion beam sputtered TiO₂-doped Ta₂O₅ films with annealing temperature. We show that low mechanical loss in TiO₂-doped Ta₂O₅ with a Ti cation ratio = 0.27 is associated with a material that consists of a homogeneous titanium-tantalum-oxygen mixture containing a low density of nanometer sized Ar-filled voids. When the Ti cation ratio is 0.53, phase separation occurs leading to increased mechanical loss. These results suggest that amorphous mixed oxides with low mechanical loss could be identified by considering the thermodynamics of ternary phase formation

Cryogenic mechanical loss of a single-crystalline GaP coating layer for precision measurement applications

The first direct observations of gravitational waves have been made by the Advanced LIGO detectors. However, the quest to improve the sensitivities of these detectors remains, and epitaxially grown single-crystal coatings show considerable promise as alternatives to the ion-beam sputtered amorphous mirror coatings typically used in these detectors and other such precision optical measurements. The mechanical loss of a 1 μm thick single-crystalline gallium phosphide (GaP) coating, incorporating a buffer layer region necessary for the growth of high quality epitaxial coatings, has been investigated over a broad range of frequencies and with fine temperature resolution. It is shown that at 20 K the mechanical loss of GaP is a factor of 40 less than an undoped tantala film heat-treated to 600 °C and is comparable to the loss of a multilayer GaP/AlGaP coating. This is shown to translate into possible reductions in coating thermal noise of a factor of 2 at 120 K and 5 at 20 K over the current best IBS coatings (alternating stacks of silica and titania-doped tantala). There is also evidence of a thermally activated dissipation process between 50 and 70 K

Investigation of effects of assisted ion bombardment on mechanical loss of sputtered tantala thin films for gravitational wave interferometers

Reduction of Brownian thermal noise due to mechanical loss in high-reflectivity mirror coatings is critical for improving the sensitivity of future gravitational wave detectors. In these mirrors, the mechanical loss at room temperature is dominated by the high refractive index component, amorphous tantala (Ta₂O₅) or tantala doped with titania (Ti∶Ta₂O₅). Toward the goal of identifying mechanisms that could alter mechanical loss, this work investigates the use of assist ion bombardment in the reactive ion beam sputtering deposition of tantala single layers. Low-energy assist ion bombardment can enhance adatom diffusion. Low-energy assist Ar⁺ and Xe⁺ ion bombardment at different conditions was implemented during deposition to identify trends in the mechanical loss with ion mass, ion energy, and ion dose. It is shown that the atomic structure and bonding states of the tantala thin films are not significantly modified by low-energy assist ion bombardment. The coatings mechanical loss remains unaltered by ion bombardment within errors. Based on an analysis of surface diffusivity, it is shown that the dominant deposition of tantala clusters and limited surface diffusion length of oxygen atoms constrain structural changes in the tantala films. A slower deposition rate coupled with a significant increase in the dose of the low-energy assist ions may provide more favorable conditions to improve adatom diffusivity

Structural Evolution that Affects the Room-Temperature Internal Friction of Binary Oxide Nanolaminates: Implications for Ultrastable Optical Cavities

Internal friction in oxide thin films imposes a critical limitation to the sensitivity and stability of the ultrahigh finesse optical cavities for gravitational wave detectors. Strategies like doping or creating nanolaminates (NL) are sought to introduce structural modifications that reduce internal friction. This work describes an investigation of the morphological changes SiO₂/Ta₂O₅ and TiO₂/Ta₂O₅ nanolaminates undergo with annealing and their impact on room-temperature internal friction. It is demonstrated that thermal treatment results in a reduction of internal friction in both nanolaminates but through different pathways. In the SiO₂/Ta₂O₅ nanolaminate, the layers of which remain intact after annealing, the total reduction in internal friction follows the reduction in the composing SiO₂ and Ta₂O₅ layers. In contrast, interdiffusion initiated by annealing at the interface in the TiO₂/Ta₂O₅ nanolaminate leads to the formation of a mixed phase. It is the interfacial reaction upon annealing that dictates the more significant reduction in internal friction to ∼2.6 × 10⁻⁴, a value lower than any other Ta₂O₅ mixture coating with similar cation concentration

Investigating the medium range order in amorphous Ta₂O₅ coatings

Ion-beam sputtered amorphous heavy metal oxides, such as Ta2O5, are widely used as the high refractive index layer of highly reflective dielectric coatings. Such coatings are used in the ground based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), in which mechanical loss, directly related to Brownian thermal noise, from the coatings forms an important limit to the sensitivity of the LIGO detector. It has previously been shown that heat-treatment and TiO2 doping of amorphous Ta2O5 coatings causes significant changes to the levels of mechanical loss measured and is thought to result from changes in the atomic structure. This work aims to find ways to reduce the levels of mechanical loss in the coatings by understanding the atomic structure properties that are responsible for it, and thus helping to increase the LIGO detector sensitivity. Using a combination of Reduced Density Functions (RDFs) from electron diffraction and Fluctuation Electron Microscopy (FEM), we probe the medium range order (in the 2-3 nm range) of these amorphous coatings