Crystalline coatings: from cavity optomechanics to ultrastable interferometers 

Garrett D. Cole, Ph.D.  
President & CEO
Crystalline Mirror Solutions LLC & GmbH
Vienna Center for Quantum
 Science and Technology
Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna 

Cavity optomechanics has recently emerged as one of the most dynamic fields in modern optics. The  ultimate  objective  of  this  interdisciplinary endeavor  is  to  gain  access  to  a  completely  new parameter  regime,  in  terms  of  size  and  complexity,  for  experimental  quantum  physics.  The  
fundamental process at the heart of this effort is the enhancement of radiation pressure within a high-finesse optical cavity. Exploiting this weak interaction, i.e. the momentum transfer of photons onto  the  cavity  boundaries,  requires  the  development  of  mechanical  resonators  simultaneously exhibiting high reflectivity and low mechanical dissipation. Interestingly, similar requirements—as a means of minimizing the deleterious effects of thermal noise—are found in a broad spectrum of applications,  ranging  from  interferometric  gravitational  wave  detectors  to  cavity-stabilized  lasers for optical atomic clocks. This overlap leads to an intimate link between advances in the disparate areas  of  optical  precision  measurement  and  micro-  and  nanoscale  optomechanical  systems.  In this presentation I will outline the fascinating perspectives of cavity optomechanics and introduce an  entirely  unanticipated  spin-off  technology  focused  on  the  development  of  ultra-stable  optical  reference cavities. 

Garrett  D.  Cole,  Co-Founder  of  Crystalline  Mirror Solutions  LLC  obtained his  PhD  in  Materials Science  and  Engineering  from  the  University  of California,  Santa  Barbara  in  2005.  Since completing  his  doctorate,  he  has  held  positions ranging  from  the  first  employee  of  a  high-tech startup (Aerius Photonics LLC, now FLIR Electro-Optical Components), to a postdoctoral position at  Lawrence  Livermore  National  Laboratory,  a  Marie  Curie  Fellow  of  the  Austrian  Academy  of Sciences, and most recently an assistant professor in the Faculty of Physics at the University of Vienna.  Leveraging  his  expertise in  micro-  and  nanofabrication,  tunable  vertical-cavity  surface-emitting lasers, and cavity optomechanics, Dr. Cole developed the proprietary substrate-transfer process at the heart of Crystalline Mirror Solutions and co-founded the venture in February 2012.