Optical microcavities confine light to small volumes by resonant recirculation. Devices based on optical microcavities are already indispensable for a wide range of applications and studies. For example, microcavities made of active III-V semiconductor materials control laser emission spectra to enable long-distance transmission of data over optical fibres; they also ensure narrow spot-size laser read/write beams in CD and DVD players. In quantum optical devices, microcavities can coax atoms or quantum dots to emit spontaneous photons in a desired direction or can provide an environment where dissipative mechanisms such as spontaneous emission are overcome so that quantum entanglement of radiation and matter is possible. Applications of these remarkable devices are as diverse as their geometrical and resonant properties.

The coupling of optical and mechanical degrees of freedom is the underlying principle of many techniques to measure mechanical displacement, from macroscale gravitational wave detectors to microscale cantilevers used in scanning probe microscopy. Recent experiments have reached a regime where the back-action of photons caused by radiation pressure can influence the optomechanical dynamics, giving rise to a host of long-anticipated phenomena. Here we review these developments and discuss the opportunities for innovative technology as well as for fundamental science.

The circulation of light within dielectric volumes enables storage of optical power near specific resonant frequencies and is important in a wide range of fields including cavity quantum electrodynamics, photonics, biosensing and nonlinear optics. Optical trajectories occur near the interface of the volume with its surroundings, making their performance strongly dependent upon interface quality. With a nearly atomic-scale surface finish, surface-tension-induced microcavities such as liquid droplets or spheres are superior to all other dielectric microresonant structures when comparing photon lifetime or, equivalently, cavity Q factor. Despite these advantageous properties, the physical characteristics of such systems are not easily controlled during fabrication. It is known that wafer-based processing of resonators can achieve parallel processing and control, as well as integration with other functions. However, such resonators-on-a-chip suffer from Q factors that are many orders of magnitude lower than for surface-tension-induced microcavities, making them unsuitable for ultra-high-Q experiments. Here we demonstrate a process for producing silica toroid-shaped microresonators-on-a-chip with Q factors in excess of 100 million using a combination of lithography, dry etching and a selective reflow process. Such a high Q value was previously attainable only by droplets or microspheres and represents an improvement of nearly four orders of magnitude over previous chip-based resonators.

I. MEASURED AND SIMULATED PROPERTIES OF THE OPTOMECHANICAL CRYSTAL NANOBEAM RESONATOR Table S1 summarizes the properties of the breathing mechanical modes. Measured values are denoted with a tilde. The necessary RF amplitudes and linewidths are extracted from the spectra of Fig. 3c using a nonlinear least squares fit with linear background and a sum of as many Lorentzian functions as are visible in the spectrum. Simulated values are calculated using methods described below. Fig. 3c of main text) and dividing by the m eff from the model. The superscript, n, in n L OM , indicates coupling of that mechanical mode to the nth optical mode (see Fig. 1b of main text). See §V F for discussion on modeling Q m .