Simulation of force-insensitive optical cavities in cubic spacers

TL;DR

This paper investigates how to design force-insensitive optical cavities using cubic spacers made of isotropic or anisotropic materials, identifying optimal material properties and crystal orientations to minimize force effects and manufacturing sensitivities.

Contribution

It introduces a method to achieve force-insensitive optical cavities by selecting specific material properties and crystal orientations, expanding design options beyond isotropic materials.

Findings

Poisson's ratio must be between 0.13 and 0.23 for isotropic materials with Young's modulus <200 GPa.

Silicon's anisotropic properties allow for broader design flexibility in force-insensitive cavities.

Certain crystal orientations in silicon reduce sensitivity to manufacturing errors.

Abstract

We analyze the properties of optical cavities contained in spacers with approximate octahedral symmetry and made of different materials,following the design of Webster and Gill (S. Webster, P. Gill, Optics Letters 36(18), 3572 (2011)). We show that for isotropic materials with Young's modulus less than 200 GPa, the Poisson's ratio $\nu$ must lie in a "magic" range 0.13<$\nu$<0.23 in order to null the influence of the forces supporting the spacer. This restriction can be overcome with the use of anisotropic materials such as silicon. A detailed study aiming at identification of all suitable crystal orientations of silicon with respect to the resonator body is performed and the relation to the Poisson's ratio and the Young's modulus along these orientations is discussed. We also perform an analysis of the sensitivity of the cavity performance to errors in spacer manufacturing. We find that the orientation of the [110] or [100] crystallographic directions oriented along one of the three optical axes of the resonator provides low sensitivities to imprecise manufacturing and interesting options for fundamental physics experiments.