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Definition: laser mirrors with a very high reflectivity
An optical supermirror is a dielectric mirror that is optimized for an extremely high reflectivity – in extreme cases, larger than 99.9999%. This means that the reflection losses are below 1 ppm. Two such mirrors form a Fabry–Pérot interferometer with a finesse larger than 3 millions and a strong field enhancement within the cavity. The Q factor of a supermirror cavity can be above 1011.
Supermirrors can be used in certain quantum optics experiments and for some measurements with extremely high precision, e.g. involving high-finesse interferometers or gyroscopes.
The term supermirror is more common for X-ray and neutron reflectors. In that field, it was originally very difficult to achieve high reflectance values. Multilayer mirrors have then been developed, which offer much better performance.
Bibliography
| [1] | O. Schaerpf, “Comparison of theoretical and experimental behaviour of supermirrors and discussion of limitations”, Physica B: Phys. Cond. Matter 156, 631 (1989) |
| [2] | R. P. Stanley et al., “Ultrahigh finesse microcavity with distributed Bragg reflectors”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 65, 1883 (1994) |
| [3] | C. J. Hood, H. J. Kimble, and J. Ye, “Characterization of high-finesse mirrors: Loss, phase shifts, and mode structure in an optical cavity”, Phys. Rev. A 64 (3), 033804 (2001) |
| [4] | A. Schliesser et al., “Complete characterization of a broadband high-finesse cavity using an optical frequency comb”, Opt. Express 14 (13), 5975 (2006) |
See also: dielectric mirrors, Fabry–Pérot interferometers, finesse, Q factor
