Particle contamination monitoring in the backscattering light experiment for LISA

Abstract

Abstract In the context of space-based optics, contamination due to particle deposition on the optics is inevitable and constitutes a critical issue. This gets more challenging for the sensitive heterodyne measurements of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), the space-based gravitational wave observatory to be launched in 2034. Therefore, table-top experiments need to be developed for a better understanding of how micrometer to millimeter sized dust particles, present on optical surfaces, affect LISA measurements. In this work, we present an experimental setup for the simultaneous measurement of the coherent backscattering and the monitoring of particles deposition on the optics to be tested. The results of the first measurements are presented and discussed in this article.