Photon momentum enabled reproducible and SI traceable small-force, -mass and laser power measurements

• Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Suren Vasilyan
• Subject Area: Measurement Systems
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 521501354

In this proposal, the necessary research on the photon momentum setup with reproducible and SI traceable framework of quantum electrical-based measurements via Planck’s constant is described. The basis is a setup that integrates two State-of-the-Art measurement principles together, Kibble balance (i.e. Planck Balance – PB2) and photon momentum, using a special co nfiguration of the multi-reflected laser beam from ultra-high reflective mirrors for achieving a force amplification effect. Besides serving as a research platform that enables to investigate several fundamental metrological (measurement methodology) questions and raising the bar of State-of-the-Art measurement principles to the next level, it is constructed on individual component level based on conventional measurement methods and commonly available cost-effective materials allowing to obtain practical benefits, e.g. as a standard metrology setup highly demanded by metrology institutes globally, an industrial system for improved high precision and high accuracy small mass, small force and high energy laser optical power measurements and instrumentation calibrations, etc. Much attention deserves the operational (measurement) range that separates the quantum and classical mechanical measurement domains where only the use of macroscopic quantum electrical phenomena like the Josephson effect, and Quantum Hall effect allows to obtain the smallest possible reproducible and SI traceable measurement quantities with acceptable relative measurement uncertainties. Therefore, with this DFG project, an important contribution is being made for the creation of the scientific-technical foundations and implementation of the link between quantum and classical mechanics. Translated in terms of optical power and force values, arguably, this range stands at the several µW up to about 1 W level for power and 10 µN (mg) down to 10 pN (ng) for forces. Hence, the proposed work addresses not yet practically realized frontiers of small force (range: 10 µN to 10 nN), mass (1 mg to 1 µg), and optical power (mW to 100 W) measurements using fundamentally new State-of-the-Art methodology in a reproducible and SI traceable manner. And thus, the main research and development effort of the current proposal is aiming toward forthcoming complete measurement uncertainty estimations. The goal is to identify the relative measurement uncertainty of photon momentum generated forces below 100 nN and achieve estimated uncertainty for 10 µN – <0.001 (<0.1%), 1 µN – 1%.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants