Speaker
Description
Challenges related to the current Virgo optical configuration have led to a redesign of the interferometer's recycling cavities, in order to improve instrument sensitivity and control. The new, non-degenerate (or “stable”) recycling cavities design requires, among other changes, a complete redesign of the auxiliary benches hosting the injection and detection optics. In this talk we will present the opto-mechanical design of the detection benches for the stable recycling cavities and the most relevant technological choices. In particular, the new design and components should guarantee low beam jitter, low optical losses, high mode-matching quality between the signal recycling cavity and output mode cleaner cavity, reduction of scattered light and protection of optical components against power peaks due to interferometer misalignments or unlocks. All these items are critical to collect the output beam which contains the gravitational wave signal.