Mechanical loss associated with silicate bonding of fused silica

We report on mechanical loss associated with hydroxy-catalysis (or ‘silicate’) bonding between fused silica substrates in the presence of potassium hydroxide or sodium silicate. We measured the mechanical quality factor of three fused silica samples, each composed of two half-rods bonded together on their flat surfaces and compared them to that of an unbonded half-rod. The measurements show a significant reduction of quality factor due to mechanical loss associated with the silicate bonds. We calculate the loss factor of the bonded region ϕbond and estimate that the effect of silicate bonding on thermal noise in the Advanced LIGO interferometers will be small.