Optimized optomechanical crystal cavity with acoustic radiation shield

We present the design of an optomechanical crystal nanobeam cavity that combines finite-element simulation with numerical optimization, and considers the optomechanical coupling arising from both moving dielectric boundaries and the photo-elastic effect. Applying this methodology results in a nanobeam with an experimentally realized intrinsic optical Q-factor of 1.2x10^6, a mechanical frequency of 5.1GHz, a mechanical Q-factor of 6.8x10^5 (at T=10K), and a zero-point-motion optomechanical coupling rate of g=1.1MHz.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Enhanced quantum nonlinearities in a two mode optomechanical system

In cavity optomechanics, nanomechanical motion couples to a localized optical mode. The regime of single-photon strong coupling is reached when the optical shift induced by a single phonon becomes comparable to the cavity linewidth. We consider a setup in this regime comprising two optical modes and one mechanical mode. For mechanical frequencies nearly resonant to the optical level splitting, we find the photon-phonon and the photon-photon interactions to be significantly enhanced. In addition to dispersive phonon detection in a novel regime, this offers the prospect of optomechanical photon measurement. We study these QND detection processes using both analytical and numerical approaches

Two-dimensional phononic-photonic bandgap optomechanical crystal cavity

We present the fabrication and characterization of an artificial crystal structure formed from a thin-film of silicon which has a full phononic bandgap for microwave X-band phonons and a two-dimensional pseudo-bandgap for near-infrared photons. An engineered defect in the crystal structure is used to localize optical and mechanical resonances in the bandgap of the planar crystal. Two-tone optical spectroscopy is used to characterize the cavity system, showing a large vacuum coupling rate of 220kHz between the fundamental optical cavity resonance at 195THz and a co-localized mechanical resonance at 9.3GHz.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Wavelength- and material-dependent absorption in GaAs and AlGaAs microcavities

The quality factors of modes in nearly identical GaAs and Al_{0.18}Ga_{0.82}As microdisks are tracked over three wavelength ranges centered at 980 nm, 1460 nm, and 1600 nm, with quality factors measured as high as 6.62x10^5 in the 1600-nm band. After accounting for surface scattering, the remaining loss is due to sub-bandgap absorption in the bulk and on the surfaces. We observe the absorption is, on average, 80 percent greater in AlGaAs than in GaAs and in both materials is 540 percent higher at 980 nm than at 1600nm.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, minor changes to disucssion of Qrad and Urbach tai

Observation of Quantum Motion of a Nanomechanical Resonator

In this Letter we use resolved sideband laser cooling to cool a mesoscopic mechanical resonator to near its quantum ground state (phonon occupancy 2.6±0.2), and observe the motional sidebands generated on a second probe laser. Asymmetry in the sideband amplitudes provides a direct measure of the displacement noise power associated with quantum zero-point fluctuations of the nanomechanical resonator, and allows for an intrinsic calibration of the phonon occupation number

Nonlinear radiation pressure dynamics in an optomechanical crystal

Utilizing a silicon nanobeam optomechanical crystal, we investigate the attractor diagram arising from the radiation pressure interaction between a localized optical cavity at $\lambda = 1552$nm and a mechanical resonance at $\omega/2\pi = 3.72$GHz. At a temperature of $T \approx 10$K, highly nonlinear driving of mechanical motion is observed via continuous wave optical pumping. Introduction of a time-dependent (modulated) optical pump is used to steer the system towards an otherwise inaccessible dynamically stable attractor in which mechanical self-oscillation occurs for an optical pump red-detuned from the cavity resonance. An analytical model incorporating thermo-optic effects due to optical absorption heating is developed, and found to accurately predict the measured device behavior.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Linear and nonlinear capacitive coupling of electro-opto-mechanical photonic crystal cavities

We fabricate and characterize a microscale silicon electro-opto-mechanical system whose mechanical motion is coupled capacitively to an electrical circuit and optically via radiation pressure to a photonic crystal cavity. To achieve large electromechanical interaction strength, we implement an inverse shadow mask fabrication scheme which obtains capacitor gaps as small as 30 nm while maintaining a silicon surface quality necessary for minimizing optical loss. Using the sensitive optical read-out of the photonic crystal cavity, we characterize the linear and nonlinear capacitive coupling to the fundamental 63 MHz in-plane flexural motion of the structure, showing that the large electromechanical coupling in such devices may be suitable for realizing efficient microwave-to-optical signal conversion.Comment: 8 papers, 4 figure

Seasonal and elevational variations of black carbon and dust in snow and ice in the Solu-Khumbu, Nepal and estimated radiative forcings

Black carbon (BC) and dust deposited on snow and glacier surfaces can reduce the surface albedo, accelerate snow and ice melt, and trigger albedo feedback. Assessing BC and dust concentrations in snow and ice in the Himalaya is of interest because this region borders large BC and dust sources, and seasonal snow and glacier ice in this region are an important source of water resources. Snow and ice samples were collected from crevasse profiles and snow pits at elevations between 5400 and 6400 m a.s.l. from Mera glacier located in the Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal during spring and fall 2009, providing the first observational data of BC concentrations in snow and ice from the southern slope of the Himalaya. The samples were measured for Fe concentrations (used as a dust proxy) via ICP-MS, total impurity content gravimetrically, and BC concentrations using a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2). Measured BC concentrations underestimate actual BC concentrations due to changes to the sample during storage and loss of BC particles in the ultrasonic nebulizer; thus, we correct for the underestimated BC mass. BC and Fe concentrations are substantially higher at elevations \u3c 6000 m due to post-depositional processes including melt and sublimation and greater loading in the lower troposphere. Because the largest areal extent of snow and ice resides at elevations \u3c 6000 m, the higher BC and dust concentrations at these elevations can reduce the snow and glacier albedo over large areas, accelerating melt, affecting glacier mass balance and water resources, and contributing to a positive climate forcing. Radiative transfer modeling constrained by measurements at 5400 m at Mera La indicates that BC concentrations in the winter–spring snow/ice horizons are sufficient to reduce albedo by 6–10% relative to clean snow, corresponding to localized instantaneous radiative forcings of 75–120 W m−2. The other bulk impurity concentrations, when treated separately as dust, reduce albedo by 40–42% relative to clean snow and give localized instantaneous radiative forcings of 488 to 525 W m−2. Adding the BC absorption to the other impurities results in additional radiative forcings of 3 W m−2. The BC and Fe concentrations were used to further examine relative absorption of BC and dust. When dust concentrations are high, dust dominates absorption, snow albedo reduction, and radiative forcing, and the impact of BC may be negligible, confirming the radiative transfer modeling. When impurity concentrations are low, the absorption by BC and dust may be comparable; however, due to the low impurity concentrations, albedo reductions are small. While these results suggest that the snow albedo and radiative forcing effect of dust is considerably greater than BC, there are several sources of uncertainty. Further observational studies are needed to address the contribution of BC, dust, and colored organics to albedo reductions and snow and ice melt, and to characterize the time variation of radiative forcing

Highly efficient coupling from an optical fiber to a nanoscale silicon optomechanical cavity

We demonstrate highly efficient coupling of light from an optical fiber to a silicon photonic crystal optomechanical cavity. The fiber-to-cavity coupling utilizes a compact (L ≈ 25 µm) intermediate adiabatic coupler. The optical coupling is lithographically controlled, broadband, relatively insensitive to fiber misalignment, and allows for light to be transferred from an optical fiber to, in principle, any photonic chip with refractive index greater than that of the optical fiber. Here we demonstrate single-sided cavity coupling with a total fiber-to-cavity optical power coupling efficiency of 85%

Growth, processing, and optical properties of epitaxial Er_2O_3 on silicon

Erbium-doped materials have been investigated for generating and amplifying light in low-power chip-scale optical networks on silicon, but several effects limit their performance in dense microphotonic applications. Stoichiometric ionic crystals are a potential alternative that achieve an Er^(3+) density 100× greater. We report the growth, processing, material characterization, and optical properties of single-crystal Er_2O_3 epitaxially grown on silicon. A peak Er^(3+) resonant absorption of 364 dB/cm at 1535nm with minimal background loss places a high limit on potential gain. Using high-quality microdisk resonators, we conduct thorough C/L-band radiative efficiency and lifetime measurements and observe strong upconverted luminescence near 550 and 670 nm