Correlations between the mechanical loss and atomic structure of amorphous TiO2-doped Ta2O5 coatings Original Research Article

Highly reflective dielectric mirror coatings are critical components in a range of precision optics applications including frequency combs, optical atomic clocks, precision interferometry and ring laser gyroscopes. A key limitation to the performance in these applications is thermal noise, arising from the mechanical loss of the coatings. The origins of the mechanical loss from these coatings is not well understood.