Speaker
Description
In order to increase strain sensitivity in the 10-200 Hz region of current gravitational wave detectors it is necessary to further reduce the thermal noise of the detector. Proposals have been put forward for the next generation (3G) detectors which will operate at cryogenic temperatures. Silicon is a promising material due to its low mechanical loss, high thermal conductivity and zero thermal expansion at low temperatures (18 K and 123 K). This talk will briefly discuss surface treatment methods aimed at increasing the ultimate tensile strength of silicon as well as initial attempts of cooling silicon suspension elements for use in a prototype cryogenic suspension.