Active suppression of air refractive index fluctuation using a Fabry-Perot cavity and a piezoelectric volume actuator.

Air refractive index fluctuation (Δn(air)) is one of the largest uncertainty sources in precision interferometry systems that require a resolution of nanometer order or less. We introduce a method for the active suppression of Δn(air) inside a normal air-environment chamber using a Fabry-Perot cavity and a piezoelectric volume actuator. The temporal air refractive index (n(air)) at a local point is maintained constant with an expanded uncertainty of ~4.2 × 10(-9) (k = 2), a sufficiently low uncertainty for precise measurements unaffected by Δn(air) to be made inside a chamber.