Technical details
of the GEO600 gravitational-wave detector
GEO600 Specifications
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Arm length | 2 x 600 m |
| Orientation | NNW and ENE |
| Tube diameter | 60 cm |
| Laser type | Diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm |
| Laser power | 30 W single mode at 1064 nm |
| Power recycling | factor 1000 |
| Optics | 18 cm diameter fused-silica mirrors and 26 cm beam splitter |
| Signal recycling | factor 10 |
| Frequency range | 50 Hz to 6 kHz |
| Vacuum | pressure ~ 10 -8 mbar |
| Sensitivity |
depending on bandwidth: h ~ 10 -20 to 10 -21 (for bursts) h ~ 10 -26 (for cw signals and 1 yr integration time) |
Technology spotlights
Cleanroom
The handling of high quality optics requires cleanroom facilities to prevent even microscopic dust particles from entering the system. These dust particles would eventually be attached to the mirror surface and burnt into it by the intense laser radiation of about 3 kW/cm2. As the handling of the high quality optics naturally takes place in the vicinity of and even in the tanks at least the surroundings of the tanks have to be of cleanroom quality.