Deploying the high-power pulsed lasers in precision force metrology – Towards SI traceable and practical force quantization by photon momentum

Abstract

Design and operational performance of table-top measurement apparatus is presented towards direct Planck constant traceable high accuracy and high precision small forces and optical power measurements within the SI unit system. Electromagnetic force compensation weighing balances, highly reflective mirrors and high-energy pulsed laser unit (static average power 20 W) are tailored together with a specially developed opto-electro-mechanical measurement infrastructure for cross-mapping the scale-systems of two different precision small force measurement methods. One of these methods obtains the force measurements by a state-of-the-art classical kinematic system employing the partial use of Kibble balance principle in the range of 10 nN to 4000 nN to be compared with forces generated due to quantum-mechanical effect namely the transfer of the momentum of photons from a macroscopic object. Detailed overview of the adapted measurement methodology, the static and the limits of dynamic measurement, the metrological traceability routes of the measurement parameters, quantities and their measurement uncertainties, parametric estimation of up (down)-scaling perspectives of the measurements are presented with respect to the state-of-the-art measurement principles and standard procedures within the newly redefined International System of Units (SI).