Advanced LIGO subsystems
are the organizational units of the overall project. Follow the links below to view the mission and progress of each subsystem.

Auxiliary Optics Core Optics
 
Data Acquisition Data and
Computing
Systems
 
Facilities
Modifications
Input Optics
 
Interferometer
Control
Pre-Stabilized
Laser
 
Seismic
Isolation
Suspensions

Advanced LIGO News

Suspensions Team Tests Monolithic Pendulum

[news]The photo shows the successful hanging of a large glass blank in an Advanced LIGO quadruple suspension at LIGO-MIT's LASTI Lab. Click on the image for an enlarged view and you'll see the 40-kg lower mass hanging from the upper mass by a set of four glass fibers, two on each side. At their thinnest point the fibers are less than a millimeter in diameter. The suspension is termed 'monolithic,' meaning that the upper (penultimate) mass, the suspension fibers and the lower (test) mass are composed of a single material, fused silica. This test suspension was hung during the last week of May, 2010. After completing the fiber welding process, the LASTI team verified the integrity of the monolithic structure then returned the quad to a LASTI vacuum chamber, rehearsing the chamber installation process and checking the alignments of the optics once in vacuum. LIGO personnel at the Observatories traveled to MIT for support of the vacuum installation and for training on the suspension controls. The ear bonding, fiber pulling and welding hardware and procedures were developed at the University of Glasgow. The monolithic suspension represents an important milestone for AdLIGO and will be a major contributing factor toward the completion of the final design review for the suspension systems

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