The effects of temperature and pressure on the stability of a high-fin
esse interferometer are considered, and the design of a high-finesse i
nterferometer that minimizes these effects is presented. The high-fine
sse interferometer has a free spectral range of 23,600 MHz, a finesse
of greater than 30,000, and a measured stability of better than 7 MHz/
h (0.3 mfringes/h). (C) 1996 Optical Society of America