Crystallization in Zirconia Film Nano-Layered with Silica
Brecken Larsen,
Christopher Ausbeck,
Timothy F. Bennet,
Gilberto DeSalvo,
Riccardo DeSalvo,
Tugdual LeBohec,
Seth Linker,
Marina Mondin,
Joshua Neilson
Affiliations
Brecken Larsen
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Christopher Ausbeck
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Timothy F. Bennet
Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
Gilberto DeSalvo
RicLab, 1650 Casa Grande Street, Pasadena, CA 91104, USA
Riccardo DeSalvo
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Tugdual LeBohec
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Seth Linker
Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
Marina Mondin
Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
Joshua Neilson
Department of Engineering, University of Sannio at Benevento, C.so Garibaldi 107, Pal. dell’Aquila Bosco-Lucarelli, and INFN, Sezione di Napoli Gruppo Collegato di Salerno, Piazza Guerrazzi, 82100 Benevento, Italy
Gravitational waves are detected using resonant optical cavity interferometers. The mirror coatings’ inherent thermal noise and photon scattering limit sensitivity. Crystals within the reflective coating may be responsible for either or both noise sources. In this study, we explored crystallization reduction in zirconia through nano-layering with silica. We used X-ray diffraction (XRD) to monitor crystal growth between successive annealing cycles. We observed crystal formation at higher temperatures in thinner zirconia layers, indicating that silica is a successful inhibitor of crystal growth. However, the thinnest barriers break down at high temperatures, thus allowing crystal growth beyond each nano-layer. In addition, in samples with thicker zirconia layers, we observe that crystallization saturates with a significant portion of amorphous material remaining.
