0000000001270577
AUTHOR
La Rosa
Increasing the Astrophysical Reach of the Advanced Virgo Detector via the Application of Squeezed Vacuum States of Light
Current interferometric gravitational-wave detectors are limited by quantum noise over a wide range of their measurement bandwidth. One method to overcome the quantum limit is the injection of squeezed vacuum states of light into the interferometer's dark port. Here, we report on the successful application of this quantum technology to improve the shot noise limited sensitivity of the Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave detector. A sensitivity enhancement of up to 3.2±0.1 dB beyond the shot noise limit is achieved. This nonclassical improvement corresponds to a 5%-8% increase of the binary neutron star horizon. The squeezing injection was fully automated and over the first 5 months of the thi…
Wireless battery chargers for portable applications: Design and test of a high-efficiency power receiver
In this study, the authors present a 5 W wireless battery charger for handheld devices. Efficiency-related issues are addressed. A power receiver architecture which improves power conversion efficiency is proposed. Design hints are provided for further applications. Comparison with a conventional architecture is provided as well. Laboratory prototypes of both the proposed and the conventional architectures have been realised. Both prototypes are tested by using the same power transmitter to perform a valuable comparison. As shown by the experimental results, in the receiver side power conversion efficiency is increased up to 99% thanks to the proposed solution.