Measurement of ultralow losses in an optical interferometer.

Characterizations of low-loss mirrors by measurements of cavity-decay time and of cavity finesse are reported near 850 nm. The lowest observed mirror loss is 1.6 x 10^-6 (transmission plus absorption and scatter), which corresponds to a reflectivity of 0.9999984 and to a cavity finesse of 1.9 x 10^6.