Multi-element cavity optomechanics constitutes a direction to observe novel effects with mechanical resonators. Several exciting ideas include superradiance, increased optomechanical coupling, and quantum effects between distinct mechanical modes among others. Realizing these experiments has so far been difficult, because of the need for extremely precise positioning of the elements relative to one another due to the high-reflectivity required for each element. Here we overcome this challenge and present the fabrication of monolithic arrays of two highly reflective mechanical resonators in a single chip. We characterize the optical spectra and losses of these 200 $μ$m-long Fabry-Pérot interferometers, measuring finesse values of up to 220. In addition, we observe an enhancement of the coupling rate between the cavity field and the mechanical center-of-mass mode compared to the single membrane case. Further enhancements in coupling with these devices are predicted, potentially reaching the single-photon strong coupling regime, giving these integrated structures an exciting prospect for future multi-mode quantum experiments.
Photonic crystal (PhC) membranes patterned with sub-wavelength periods offer a unique combination of high reflectivity, low mass, and high mechanical quality factor. We demonstrate a PhC membrane that we use as one mirror of a Fabry-Perot cavity with finesse as high as $F=35,000(500)$, corresponding to a record high PhC reflectivity of $R=0.999835(6)$. The fundamental mechanical frequency is 426 kHz, more than twice the optical linewidth, placing it firmly in the resolved-sideband regime. The mechanical quality factor in vacuum is $Q=1.1(1)\times 10^6$, allowing us to achieve values of the sin…
We present high-reflectivity mechanical resonators fabricated from AlGaAs heterostructures for use in free-space optical cavities operating in the telecom wavelength regime. The mechanical resonators are fabricated in slabs of GaAs and patterned with a photonic crystal to increase their out-of-plane reflectivity. Characterization of the mechanical modes reveals residual tensile stress in the GaAs device layer. This stress results in higher mechanical frequencies than in unstressed GaAs and can be used for strain engineering of mechanical dissipation. Simultaneously, we find that the finite wai…
Electronic resonances can significantly enhance the photon-phonon coupling in cavity optomechanics, but are normally avoided due to absorption losses and dephasing by inhomogeneous broadening. We experimentally demonstrate that exciton-polaritons in semiconductor microcavities enable GHz optomechanics with single-particle resonant couplings reaching record values in the 10s of MHz range. Moreover, this resonant enhancement is protected from inhomogeneous broadening by the Rabi gap. Single-polariton non-linearities and the optomechanical strong-coupling regime become accessible in this platform…
Studying the interplay between multiple coupled mechanical resonators is a promising new direction in the field of optomechanics. Understanding the dynamics of the interaction can lead to rich new effects, such as enhanced coupling and multi-body physics. In particular, multi-resonator optomechanical systems allow for distinct dynamical effects due to the optical cavity coherently coupling mechanical resonators. Here, we study the mechanical response of two SiN membranes and a single optical mode, and find that the cavity induces a time delay between the local and cavity-transduced thermal noi…
Singularities that symbolize abrupt changes and exhibit extraordinary behavior are of broad interest. We experimentally study optomechanically induced singularities in a compound system consisting of a three-dimensional aluminum superconducting cavity and a metalized high-coherence silicon nitride membrane resonator. Mechanically-induced coherent perfect absorption and anti-lasing occur simultaneously under a critical optomechanical coupling strength. Meanwhile, the phase around the cavity resonance undergoes an abrupt $π$-phase transition, which further flips the phase slope in the frequency …
In cavity optomechanics, nonlinear interactions between an optical field and a mechanical resonator mode enable a variety of unique effects in classical and quantum measurement and information processing. Here, we describe nonlinear optomechanical coupling in the membrane-in-the-middle (MIM) setup in a way that allows direct comparison to the intrinsic optomechanical nonlinearity in a standard, single-cavity optomechanical system. We find that the enhancement of nonlinear optomechanical coupling in the MIM system as predicted by Ludwig et al. arXiv:1202.0532 is limited to the degree of sideban…
In this article, we address the optomechanical effects in surface-enhanced resonant Raman scattering (SERRS) from a single molecule in a nano-particle on mirror (NPoM) nanocavity by developing a quantum master equation theory, which combines macroscopic quantum electrodynamics and electron-vibration interaction within the framework of open quantum system theory. We supplement the theory with electromagnetic simulations and time-dependent density functional theory calculations in order to study the SERRS of a methylene blue molecule in a realistic NPoM nanocavity. The simulations allow us not o…
We propose to manipulate the statistic properties of the photons transport nonreciprocally via quadratic optomechanical coupling. We present a scheme to generate quadratic optomechanical interactions in the normal optical modes of a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optomechanical system by eliminating the linear optomechanical couplings via anticrossing of different modes. By optically pumping the WGM optomechanical system in one direction, the effective quadratic optomechanical coupling in that direction will be enhanced significantly, and nonreciprocal photon blockade will be observed consequen…
The motion of a mechanical resonator is intrinsically decomposed over a collection of normal modes of vibration. When the resonator is used as a sensor, its multimode nature often deteriorates or limits its performance and sensitivity. This challenge is frequently encountered in state-of-the-art optomechanical sensing platforms. We present a mechanical design strategy that ensures that optomechanical measurements can retrieve information on a single mechanical degree of freedom, and implement it in a sliced photonic crystal nanobeam resonator. A spectral design approach is used to make mechani…
Nano- and micromechanical solid-state quantum devices have become a focus of attention. Reliably generating nonclassical states of their motion is of interest both for addressing fundamental questions about macroscopic quantum phenomena and for developing quantum technologies in the domains of sensing and transduction. We used quantum optical control techniques to conditionally generate single-phonon Fock states of a nanomechanical resonator. We performed a Hanbury Brown and Twiss-type experiment that verified the nonclassical nature of the phonon state without requiring full state reconstruct…
We study entanglement of the cavity modes in a double-cavity optomechanical system in strong-coupling regime. The system consists of two optomechanical systems coupled by a single photon hopping between them. With the radiation pressure of the photon, entanglement of the cavity modes can be generated. The concurrence between the cavity modes is at least twice larger than that between the mechanical modes. Moreover, when we change the ratio between coupling strength and resonant frequency of mechanical modes, the entanglement in cavity and mechanical modes are influenced differently.
Measurement-based control has emerged as an important technique to prepare mechanical resonators in pure quantum states for applications in quantum information processing and quantum sensing. Conventionally this has required two separate channels, one for probing the motion and another one acting back on the resonator. In this work, we analyze and experimentally demonstrate a technique of single-laser feedback cooling, where one laser is used for both probing and controlling the mechanical motion. We show using an analytical model and experiments that feedback cooling is feasible in this mode …
Due to recent development of growing and processing techniques for high-quality single crystal diamond, the large scale production of diamond optomechanical crystal cavities becomes feasible, enabling optomechanical devices that can operate in higher mechanical frequencies and be coupled to two-level systems based on diamond color centers. In this paper we describe a design optimization method to produce diamond optomechanical crystal (OMC) cavities operating at the high-cooperativity regime (close to unity) at room temperature.
We establish a method for the determination of the single-photon optomechanical coupling rate, which characterizes the radiation pressure interaction in an optomechanical system. The estimation of the rate with which a mechanical oscillator, initially in a thermal state, undergoes a Hopf bifurcation, and reaches a limit cycle, allows us to determine the single-photon optomechanical coupling rate in a simple and consistent way. Most importantly, and in contrast to other methods, our method does not rely on knowledge of the system's bath temperature and on a calibration of the signal. We provide…
Piezoelectric optomechanical platforms represent one of the most promising routes towards achieving quantum transduction of photons between the microwave and optical frequency domains. However, there are significant challenges to achieving near-unity transduction efficiency. We discuss such factors in the context of the two main approaches being pursued for high efficiency transduction. The first approach uses one-dimensional nanobeam optomechanical crystals excited by interdigitated transducers, and is characterized by large single-photon optomechanical coupling strength, limited intracavity …
We theoretically study the optomechanically induced transparency (OMIT) and absorption(OMIA) phenomena in a single microcavity optomechanical system, assisted by an indirectly-coupledauxiliary cavity mode. We show that the interference effect between the two optical modes playsan important role and can be used to control the multiple-pathway induced destructive or construc-tive interference effect. The three-pathway interference could induce an absorption dip within thetransparent window in the red sideband driving regime, while we can switch back and forth betweenOMIT and OMIA with the four-p…
Traveling-wave optomechanical interactions, known as Brillouin interactions, have now been established as a powerful and versatile resource for photonic sources, sensors, and radio-frequency processors. However, established Brillouin-based interactions with sufficient interaction strengths involve short phonon lifetimes, which critically limit their performance for applications including radio-frequency filtering and optomechanical storage devices. Here, we investigate a new paradigm of optomechanical interactions with fundamental acoustic modes, where interaction strength is decoupled from ph…
Silicon on insulator photonics has offered a versatile platform for the recent development of integrated optomechanical circuits. However, there are some constraints such as the high cost of the wafers and limitation to a single physical device level. In the present work we investigate nanocrystalline silicon as an alternative material for optomechanical devices. In particular, we demonstrate that optomechanical crystal cavities fabricated of nanocrystalline silicon have optical and mechanical properties enabling non-linear dynamical behaviour and effects such as thermo-optic/free-carrier-disp…
Optomechanical crystal cavities (OMCCs) are fundamental nanostructures for a wide range of phenomena and applications. Usually, optomechanical interaction in such OMCCs is limited to a single optical mode and a unique mechanical mode. In this sense, eliminating the single mode constraint - for instance, by adding more mechanical modes - should enable more complex physical phenomena, giving rise to a context of multimode optomechanical interaction. However, a general method to produce in a controlled way multiple mechanical modes with large coupling rates in OMCCs is still missing. In this work…
Optomechanical systems combine extreme sensitivity and bandwidth in the control of mechanical motion, of interest for various applications. Integrated on a chip, actuated and detected all-optically by a single laser, they could disrupt sensing technologies. We introduce here a multiphysics model that describes their operation in the oscillating mode, under sinusoidal modulation of the laser, when both photothermal forces and radiation pressure are present, and when nonlinear absorption occurs in the device. The model is validated by systematic experiments on ultra-high frequency optomechanical…
