Dynamical Backaction in an Ultrahigh-Finesse Fiber-Based Microcavity

The use of low-dimensional objects in the field of cavity optomechanics is limited by their low scattering cross section compared with the size of the optical cavity mode. Fiber-based Fabry-Perot microcavities can feature tiny mode cross sections and still maintain a high finesse, boosting the light-matter interaction and thus enabling the sensitive detection of the displacement of minute objects. Here we present such an ultrasensitive microcavity setup with the highest finesse reported so far in loaded fiber cavities, F=195000. We are able to position-tune the static optomechanical coupling to a silicon nitride membrane stripe, reaching frequency pull parameters of up to G/2π=1GHz/nm. We also demonstrate radiation pressure backaction in the regime of an ultrahigh finesse up to F=165000

Fluctuating nanomechanical systems in a high finesse optical microcavity

Confining a laser field between two high reflectivity mirrors of a high-finesse cavity can increase the probability of a given cavity photon to be scattered by an atom traversing the confined photon mode. This enhanced coupling between light and atoms is successfully employed in cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments and led to a very prolific research in quantum optics. The idea of extending such experiments to sub-wavelength sized nanomechanical systems has been recently proposed in the context of optical cavity cooling. Here we present an experiment involving a single nanorod consisting of about 10^9 atoms precisely positioned to plunge into the confined mode of a miniature high finesse Fabry-Perot cavity. We show that the optical transmission of the cavity is affected not only by the static position of the nanorod but also by its vibrational fluctuation. While an imprint of the vibration dynamics is directly detected in the optical transmission, back-action of the light field is also anticipated to quench the nanorod Brownian motion. This experiment shows the first step towards optical cavity controlled dynamics of mechanical nanostructures and opens up new perspectives for sensing and manipulation of optomechanical nanosystems.Comment: 16 pages, including 4 figure

Assessing the Impact of Risk Contagion on Value-at-Risk and the Alternative Application of a Bayesian Factor Based Approach.

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Optical instability and self-pulsing in silicon nitride whispering gallery resonators

We report time domain observations of optical instability in high Q silicon nitride whispering gallery disk resonators. At low laser power the transmitted optical power through the disk looks chaotic. At higher power, the optical output settles into a stable self-pulsing regime with periodicity ranging from hundreds of milliseconds to hundreds of seconds. This phenomenon is explained by the interplay between a fast thermo-optic nonlinearity within the disk and a slow thermo-mechanic nonlinearity of the structure. A model for this interplay is developed which provides good agreement with experimental data and points out routes to control this instability

Media 1: Optical instability and self-pulsing in silicon nitride whispering gallery resonators

Originally published in Optics Express on 17 December 2012 (oe-20-27-29076