An active vibration isolation system for inertial reference and precision measurement

We describe an active low‐frequency vibration isolation system based on an earlier instrument developed at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA). Several modifications, which have led to improved transient response, temperature stability, and a greatly reduced size, are discussed. We also comment on how the performance of the system is limited by sensor noise, mechanical resonances, and cross couplings between the different degrees of freedom.