Near-infrared scanning cavity ringdown for optical loss characterization of supermirrors

Opt Express. 2019 Jul 8;27(14):19141-19149. doi: 10.1364/OE.27.019141.

Abstract

A cavity ringdown system for probing the spatial variation of optical loss across high-reflectivity mirrors is described. This system is employed to examine substrate-transferred crystalline supermirrors and to quantify the effect of manufacturing process imperfections. Excellent agreement is observed between the ringdown-generated spatial measurements and differential interference contrast microscopy images. A 2-mm diameter ringdown scan in the center of a crystalline supermirror reveals highly uniform coating properties with excess loss variations below 1 ppm.