Advanced Virgo is an upgrade to the Virgo detector located near Pisa, Italy designed with an ultimate goal of the
detection of gravitational waves originating from cosmic sources. The upgrade will provide an order of magnitude
increase in the sensitivity of the detector and allow the exploration of a volume 1,000 times larger than Virgo. The
system design includes 21 ‘half meter’ class optics for which Zygo has been selected as the primary supplier. The
optic components have nanometer level low-order figure requirements along with sub-angstrom roughness
requirements specified over a wide spatial frequency band. In this paper the results and methodologies used in
achieving such extreme requirements that are typically associated with the semiconductor lithography industry will
be presented.
Over the past two years we have developed MRF tools and procedures to manufacture large-aperture (430 X
430 mm) continuous phase plates (CPPs) that are capable of operating in the infrared portion (1053 nm) of
high-power laser systems. This is accomplished by polishing prescribed patterns of continuously varying
topographical features onto finished plano optics using MRF imprinting techniques. We have been successful in
making, testing, and using large-aperture CPPs whose topography possesses spatial periods as low as 4 mm and
surface peak-to-valleys as high as 8.6 microns. Combining this application of MRF technology with advanced MRF
finishing techniques that focus on ultraviolet laser damage resistance makes it potentially feasible to
manufacture large-aperture CPPs that can operate in the ultraviolet (351 nm) without sustaining laser-induced
damage. In this paper, we will discuss the CPP manufacturing process and the results of 351-nm/3-nsec
equivalent laser performance experiments conducted on large-aperture CPPs manufactured using advanced
MRF protocols.
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