Mechanically compliant grating reflectors for optomechanics

Kemiktarak, Utku; Metcalfe, Michael; Durand, Mathieu; Lawall, John

doi:10.1063/1.3684248

Cited by 52 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Several important observations can be made from this figure. The largest value for g (1) sin increases with |ζ |; in the figure we show data points for ζ = −0.5 (20% intensity reflectivity; red data marked with squares), ζ = −1.0 (50%; orange, triangles), and ζ = −12.9 (99.4%; blue, circles), the first two of which represent a typical reflectivity for SiN membranes used for optomechanical experiments [72], and the last membranes with increased reflectivity due to the use of subwavelength patterning [73,74]. Secondly, the value of N for which the coupling strength is optimized is highly dependent on the value of d; the reflectivity of the array depends on d mod (λ/2), so that one is free to increase the element spacing by integer multiples of half a wavelength without affecting its transmission properties (in the limit of a wavelength-independent reflectivity).…”

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confidence: 99%

Collectively enhanced optomechanical coupling in periodic arrays of scatterers

2013

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We investigate the optomechanical properties of a periodic array of identical scatterers placed inside an optical cavity and extend our previous results [Xuereb, Genes, and Dantan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 223601 (2012)]. We show that operating at the points where the array is transmissive results in linear optomechanical coupling strengths between the cavity field and collective motional modes of the array that may be several orders of magnitude larger than is possible with an equivalent reflective ensemble. We describe and interpret these effects in detail and investigate the nature of the scaling laws of the coupling strengths for the different transmissive points in various regimes. The ability to measure and control the motion of massive mechanical oscillators has progressed dramatically in recent years [1,2], and several important milestones have been reached in the field of optomechanics towards bringing this capability into the quantum regime, including the cooling to the motional quantum ground state [3][4][5], the detection of quantized mechanical motion [6,7], and the observation of ponderomotive squeezing of light [8,9] or of radiation-pressure shot noise on a mechanical oscillator [10].One challenge faced by the current generation of optomechanical experiments is that the interaction strength between a single photon and a single massive mechanical element is typically very weak. This can be ameliorated by confining light in wavelength-scale structures [11] or, generically, counteracted by the use of strong light fields in an optical resonator to amplify the interaction strength [12], albeit at the expense of trading off the intrinsically nonlinear nature of the radiation-pressure interaction (see, however, recent proposals in Refs. [13,14]). A growing number of theoretical proposals have contemplated the opposite, a "strong coupling" regime, where a single photon can affect the motion of the oscillator significantly, thus giving access to the full quantum nature of the optomechanical interaction [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].On the other hand, collective effects in optomechanical systems involving multiple mechanical and electromagnetic field modes have been discussed in a number of theoretical works, in connection with, e.g., optomechanical entanglement [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] Motivated by the exploration of such collective optomechanical effects, we recently [58] showed that the collective motion of a periodic array of identical scatterers, when placed inside a cavity field, can couple very strongly to the optical field in the configuration where the array is transmissive, in contrast to the usual reflective optomechanics approach. The aim of the present work is to present a detailed exploration of this system in order to highlight the regimes in which these generic collective effects are seen and to compare the various possible transmissive operating points.This paper is organized as follows. In the next section we summarize and discuss the tools used to model a periodic ...

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Collectively enhanced optomechanical coupling in periodic arrays of scatterers

2013

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“…A novel approach is to use high-contrast gratings (HCGs), fabricated from semiconductors or high refractive index (highindex) dielectrics [17][18][19] , that can be designed with large reflection 20 or transmission 21 efficiencies. Wavefront control was originally achieved by rendering one dimensional gratings aperiodic by gradually modifying the local period and duty cycle of the grating [21][22][23] .…”

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Subwavelength-thick lenses with high numerical apertures and large efficiency based on high-contrast transmitarrays

et al. 2015

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Flat optical devices thinner than a wavelength promise to replace conventional free-space components for wavefront and polarization control. Transmissive flat lenses are particularly interesting for applications in imaging and on-chip optoelectronic integration. Several designs based on plasmonic metasurfaces, high-contrast transmitarrays and gratings have been recently implemented but have not provided a performance comparable to conventional curved lenses. Here we report polarization-insensitive, micron-thick, high-contrast transmitarray micro-lenses with focal spots as small as 0.57 l. The measured focusing efficiency is up to 82%. A rigorous method for ultrathin lens design, and the trade-off between high efficiency and small spot size (or large numerical aperture) are discussed. The micro-lenses, composed of silicon nano-posts on glass, are fabricated in one lithographic step that could be performed with high-throughput photo or nanoimprint lithography, thus enabling widespread adoption.

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“…For these reasons, highcontrast gratings have become a novel platform for optomechanics, 4-6 enabling the construction of high-finesse optical cavities incorporating a mechanically compliant, highly reflective mirror, of low mass and high mechanical quality factor. In previous work, 5,6 we used an HCG patterned in silicon nitride as one end mirror of a FabryPerot cavity, simultaneously achieving a finesse of F = 2800 and mechanical quality factor of Q = 780 000. By exploiting the techniques of cavity optomechanics, 7 we have optically cooled mechanical modes of our device from room temperature to an effective temperature of T ≈ 1 K.…”

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confidence: 99%

Optomechanics with high-contrast gratings

Kemiktarak

Stambaugh

et al. 2014

SPIE Proceedings

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High-contrast gratings fabricated in free-standing membranes of silicon nitride are a remarkable new platform for optomechanics, as they combine high reflectivity, low mass, and a high mechanical quality factor in a single device. In an effort to further improve on our earlier designs, we are now fabricating high-contrast gratings from stoichiometric silicon nitride. The new gratings have a diameter of 80 µm, a thickness of 250 µm, and are patterned in square membranes from 100 µm to 500 µm on a side. We find reflectivities R > 0.994 for these devices, and fundamental mechanical resonance frequencies above 1.5 MHz. In addition, we have incorporated HCGs fabricated from low-stress silicon nitride into a "membrane-in-the-middle" setup, and observe that the cavity transmission spectrum is distorted from a constant free spectral range of 3 GHz to one characterized by anticrossings separated by 72 ± 2 MHz.

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Mechanically compliant grating reflectors for optomechanics

Cited by 52 publications

References 25 publications

Collectively enhanced optomechanical coupling in periodic arrays of scatterers

Collectively enhanced optomechanical coupling in periodic arrays of scatterers

Subwavelength-thick lenses with high numerical apertures and large efficiency based on high-contrast transmitarrays

Optomechanics with high-contrast gratings

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