Mechanical Resonators in the Middle of an Optical Cavity
The interaction of light with mechanical motion has generated a burst of interest in recent years [1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] from fundamental questions on the quantum motion of solid objects to novel engineering concepts for sensing and optical devices. This intere
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Mechanical Resonators in the Middle of an Optical Cavity Ivan Favero, Jack Sankey and Eva M. Weig
Abstract The interaction of light with mechanical motion has generated a burst of interest in recent years [1–4] from fundamental questions on the quantum motion of solid objects to novel engineering concepts for sensing and optical devices. This interest was originally inspired by experimental geometries in which a mechanically compliant object acts as the back mirror of Fabry-Perot cavity. In order to maintain a stable, high-finesse cavity with this geometry, the mechanical element’s transverse dimensions must be larger than the photon’s wavelength and its thickness sufficient to create an appreciable reflectivity. This places a lower bound on the mass of the mechanical object, limiting the effect of individual photons. Here we explore a complementary set of geometries in which a nanomechanical element or a very thin membrane is positioned within a high-finesse, rigid optical cavity. This geometry (inspired by the success of cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments with atoms) extends Fabry-Perot-based optomechanics to smaller / sub-wavelength mechanical elements. The added complexity associated with inserting a third (movable) scatterer also affords a new set of opportunities: in addition to reproducing the physics of a two-mirror optomechanical system, several “non-standard” types of linear and non-linear optomechanical couples can be generated. Combined with the diverse set of comparatively lightweight mechanical elements that can be inserted into a cavity, this geometry offers a high degree of optomechanical versatility for potential sensing and quantum information applications.
I. Favero (B) CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France e-mail: [email protected] J. Sankey McGill University, Montreal, Canada e-mail: [email protected] E. M. Weig University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany e-mail: [email protected]
M. Aspelmeyer et al. (eds.), Cavity Optomechanics, Quantum Science and Technology, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-55312-7_5, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
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Fig. 5.1 Illustration of a hybrid cavity nano-optomechanical experiment with separate mechanical and optical resonator. The optical resonator is constituted by a Fabry-Perot cavity with rigidly mounted end mirrors. A vibrating nanomechanical resonator (green) is inserted into the cavity field (red). [Image: C. Hohmann, Nanosystems Initiative Munich]
5.1 Nanomechanical Resonators in the Middle of an Optical Cavity Here we discuss a geometry in which a nanomechanical element is positioned within a rigid optical cavity as drawn in Fig. 5.1 and 5.2. In contrast to standard optomechanical cavities, the mechanical element and the optical resonator are two distinct bodies. The optical resonator is a Fabry-Perot cavity with rigid mirrors and the mechanical resonator is a nanomechanical object with sub-wavelength transverse dimensions. This nanomechanical resonator is positioned inside the cavity mod
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