ULTRA-PURE SILICON
11.12.2024
ULTRA-PURE SILICON
Development of High-purity Silicon Mirrors for the Einstein Telescope
The Einstein Telescope (ET) will be a third-generation detector with a tenfold increase in sensitivity for gravitational waves that will expand the observing window for previously hidden cosmic events. ET will have the potential to discover new, so far unknown sources of gravitational waves. To achieve this extremely high sensitivity, the interferometer’s mirrors will be made of silicon crystals. Crystalline silicon offers excellent material properties for detection at cryogenic temperatures, where the interferometer will operate to minimise thermal noise.