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Optomechanics of deformable optical cavities

Nature Photonics volume 3, pages 201–205 (2009)Cite this article

Resonant optical cavities such as Fabry–Perot resonators or whispering-gallery structures are subject to radiation pressure pushing their reflecting 'walls' apart. Deformable optical cavities yield to this pressure, but in doing so they in turn affect the stored optical energy, resulting in an optical back-action. For such cavities the optics and the mechanics become strongly coupled, making them fascinating systems in which to explore theories of measurements at the quantum limit. Here we provide a summary of the current state of optomechanics of deformable optical cavities, identifying some of the most important recent developments in the field.

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Figure 1: Generic schematics of optomechanical sensors.
Figure 2: Wide range of sizes of optomechanical deformable cavity systems showing self-cooling effects.
Figure 3: Optomechanical radiation pressure self-cooling of deformable cavities.
Figure 4: Nonlinear dynamics of an optomechanical system.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Heidmann and J. G. E. Harris for providing us with their data for illustration in Fig. 3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques, Université Paris-Diderot, CNRS, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, Paris, 75013, France

    Ivan Favero

  2. CeNS, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, Geschwister Scholl Platz 1, München, 80539, Germany

    Khaled Karrai

  3. attocube systems AG, Königinstrasse11a, München, D-80539, Germany

    Khaled Karrai

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  1. Ivan Favero
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Favero, I., Karrai, K. Optomechanics of deformable optical cavities. Nature Photon 3, 201–205 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2009.42

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