Investigating the medium range order in amorphous Ta2O5 coatings

Bassiri, R. et al. (2014) Investigating the medium range order in amorphous Ta2O5 coatings. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 522(1), 012043. (doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/522/1/012043)

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Publisher's URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/522/1/012043

Abstract

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.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:Electron Microscopy and Analysis Group Conference 2013 (EMAG2013) 3–6 Sep 2013, York, United Kingdom
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Rowan, Professor Sheila and Martin, Dr Iain and HART, Martin and MacLaren, Dr Ian
Authors: Bassiri, R., HART, M. J., Byer, R. L., Borisenko, K. B., Evans, K., Fejer, M. M., Lin, A. C., MacLaren, I., Markosyan, A. S., Martin, I. W., Route, R. K., and Rowan, S.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
Research Centre:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy > Institute for Gravitational Research
Journal Name:Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Publisher:IOP Publishing
ISSN:1742-6588
ISSN (Online):1742-6596
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd
First Published:First published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series 522(1):012043
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
459313Investigations in Gravitational Radiation.Sheila RowanScience & Technologies Facilities Council (STFC)ST/J000361/1P&A - PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY