A vibration-free, thermally controlled setup for mechanical thermal noise measurements

¹ INFN, Sezione di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
² Dipartimento di Fisica Tecnica, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
³ Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Gradenigo 6/B, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁴ Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, CNR-Fondazione Bruno Kessler, 38100 Povo, Trento, Italy
⁵ INFN, Gruppo Collegato di Trento, Sezione di Padova, 38100 Povo, Trento, Italy

^a e-mail: lconti@pd.infn.it

Received: 29 July 2011
Revised: 12 October 2011
Accepted: 12 October 2011
Published online: 23 December 2011

Abstract

We have developed a setup that offers a vacuum compatible, vibration-free experimental space with active thermal stabilization around room temperature, suitable for high sensitivity measurements. In this paper we describe the experimental setup from the thermal viewpoint and the design and implementation of the thermal control. Then we characterize the long-term performances of the control loop by using experimental data collected over 1 month: we show that our control is effective in reducing room temperature variations by a factor 100 over a few weeks, even in the presence of an internal dc heat source of 2 W.