Hai-Ping Cheng

Sponsor: National Science Foundation

Center for Coatings Research

The Center for Coatings Research (CCR) has continued to make progress towards the development of low thermal noise coatings that will enable the next generation of gravitational wave detectors in the US, Cosmic Explorer (CE).

The CCR combines efforts from nine US institutions, integrating coating deposition, characterization of atomic structure and macroscopic material properties, and computational modeling. This interdisciplinary approach has led to significant advancements in understanding the structural motifs associated with mechanical loss. Building on this knowledge, the CCR has focused on further developing Ti:GeO2 and studying other amorphous materials to meet CE requirements, as well as continuing the development of crystalline AlGaAs coatings by studying small-scale samples and scalability to large-diameter optics.

Additionally, the CCR has fostered a strong collaborative environment through workshops, meetings, and coordinated research efforts. In partnership with the LSC Optics Working Group, the CCR hosted two coatings workshops over the past year attached to each LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA meeting, as well as participating in the biweekly OWG Zoom meetings and holding monthly CCR PI telecons.

The strength of the CCR and its promise of accelerating the R&D of low-loss coatings arise from the effective integration of our nine groups, in collaboration with the LSC and CE-Consortium.