Research Professor
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Physics 263-3
sdpenn@syr.edu
315-383-0069
Lab/ Center/ Institute affiliations: Syracuse University Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Areas of Expertise:
- Gravitational wave instrument science and astrophysics
- Mirror coating thermal noise
- Crystalline semiconductor mirror coatings
- Physics of fused silica and optical materials
- Nuclear physics
My research is gravitational wave (GW) detection and the emerging field of gravitational wave astronomy, specifically, maximizing the sensitivity of GW detectors so that we may “see” farther out into the universe. The LIGO detector is a 4-km long interferometer with a differential arm length resolution < 10-19 m, or 10-4 of a proton diameter. My primary work has been the development of LIGO’s “test mass” mirrors, whose motion indicates the passing GW. These are the world’s most precise mirrors with the lowest optical and mechanical noise. I led the research effort to develop the lowest noise glass that is used for the mirror substrates and suspensions. I was a leader on the team that identified the significant noise contribution from mirror coating thermal noise and that developed the current mirror coatings. At present we have developed crystalline semiconductor mirror coatings, which promise a further 10x reduction in coating thermal noise.
Honors and Awards:
- Special Breakthrough Prize in Physics for LIGO Scientific Collaboration, 2016
- Princess of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research for LSC, 2017
- The Karl Taylor Compton Award for Overall Excellence, MIT 1992
Selected Publications:
Observation of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger.
Abbott, B. P., et al. (LIGO and Virgo Collaborations including S Penn)
Phys. Rev. Lett. 116.6 (2016): 061102. (Front cover article)
Substrate-transferred GaAs/AlGaAs crystalline coatings for gravitational-wave detectors
G. D. Cole, S. D. Penn, et al.
Appl. Phys. Lett, 122, 110502 (2023) doi: 10.1063/5.0140663
(Selected as a Highlight of the Year 2023 by Optics and Photonics News)
Mechanical Ringdown Studies of Large-Area Substrate-Transferred GaAs/AlGaAs Crystalline Coatings
S D Penn, M M Kinley-Hanlon, Ian A. O. MacMillan, et al.
Journal Opt. Soc. Am. B, 36, (2019) C15
Frequency and surface dependence of the mechanical loss in fused silica
Steven D Penn, et al.,
Phys. Lett. A 352 No 1-2 (2006) 3-6
Gravitational Wave Detection and Coating Thermal Noise
S. Penn and D Ottaway, in Optical Coatings for Precision Measurements,
Ed. by G. Harry, T. Bodiya, R. deSalvo, 2010, Cambridge University Press
Mechanical Loss in Silica/Tantala Dielectric Mirror Coatings
S D Penn, Sheila Rowan, et al.,
Class. Quantum Grav. 20 (2003) 2917-2928