Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Trapping, corralling and spectral bonding of optical resonances through optically induced potentials

Abstract

Optical forces resulting from interacting modes and cavities can scale to remarkably large values as the optical modes shrink to nanometre dimensions. Such forces can be harnessed in fundamentally new ways when optical elements can freely adapt to them. Here, we propose the use of optomechanically coupled resonators as a general means of tailoring optomechanical potentials through the action of optical forces. We show that significant attractive and repulsive forces arising from optomechanically coupled cavity resonances can give rise to strong and highly localized optomechanical potential wells whose widths can approach picometre scales. These potentials enable unique all-optical self-adaptive behaviours, such as the trapping and corralling (or dynamic capture) of microcavity resonances with light. It is shown, for example, that a resonator can be designed to dynamically self-align (or spectrally bond) its resonance to an incident laser line. Although these concepts are illustrated through dual-microring cavity designs, broad extension to other photonic topologies can be made.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Optomechanically coupled dual-cavity structure under optical excitation.
Figure 2: Modal analysis of the dual-ring strucure.
Figure 3: A conceptual outline of cavity trapping.
Figure 4: Computed modes and optomechanical potentials of a dual-ring cavity.
Figure 5: Design for dynamically self-aligning microcavity resonator.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Nichols, E. F. & Hull, G. F. A preliminary communication on the pressure of heat and light radiation. Phys. Rev. 13, 307–320 (1901).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Song, B.-S., Noda, S., Asano, T. & Akahane, Y. Ultra-high-Q photonic double-heterostructure nanocavity. Nature Mater. 4, 207–210 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Qi, M. et al. A three-dimensional optical photonic crystal with designed point defects. Nature 429, 538–542 (2004).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bozhevolnyi, S. I., Volkov, V. S., Devaux, E., Laluet, J.-Y. & Ebbesen, T. W. Channel plasmon subwavelength waveguide components including interferometers and ring resonators. Nature 440, 508–511 (2006).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Rakich, P. T. et al. Achieving centimetre-scale supercollimation in a large-area two-dimensional photonic crystal. Nature Mater. 5, 93–96 (2006).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Altug, H., Englund, D. & Vučković, J. Ultrafast photonic crystal nanocavity laser. Nature Phys. 2, 484–488 (2006).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Badolato, A. et al. Deterministic coupling of single quantum dots to single nanocavity modes. Science 308, 1158–1161 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kippenberg, T. J. et al. Analysis of radiation-pressure induced mechanical oscillation of an optical microcavity. Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 033901 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Povinelli, M. L. et al. Evanescent-wave bonding between optical waveguides. Opt. Lett. 30, 3042–3044 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Povinelli, M. L. et al. High-Q enhancement of attractive and repulsive optical forces between coupled whispering-gallery-mode resonators. Opt. Express 13, 8286–8295 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Mizrahi, A. & Schächter, L. Mirror manipulation by attractive and repulsive forces of guided waves. Opt. Express 13, 9804–9811 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Notomi, M., Taniyama, H., Mitsugi, S. & Kuramochi, E. Optomechanical wavelength and energy conversion in high-Q double-layer cavities of photonic crystal slabs. Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 023903 (2006).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Mizrahi, A. & Schächter, L. Two slab optical spring. Opt. Lett. 32, 692–694 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Eichenfield, M., Michael, C.P., Perahia, R. & Painter, O. Actuation of micro-optomechanical systems via cavity-enhanced optical dipole forces. Nature Photon. 1, 416–422 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. In, H. J., Kumar, S., Shao-Horn, Y. & Barbastathis, G. Origami fabrication of nanostructured, three-dimensional devices: Electrochemical capacitors with carbon electrodes. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 83104 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Nichol, A. J., Arora, W. J. & Barbastathis, G. Thin membrane self-alignment using nanomagnets for three-dimensional nanomanufacturing. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 24, 3128–3132 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Haus, H. A. Waves and Fields in Optoelectronics (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1984).

  18. Rakich, P. T. et al. Ultrawide tuning of photonic microcavities via evanescent field perturbation. Opt. Lett. 31, 1241–1243 (2006).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Chuang, S. L. Physics of Optoelectronic Devices (Wiley, New York, 1995).

  20. Madsen, C. K. & Zhao, J. H. Optical Filter Design and Analysis: A Signal Processing Approach (Wiley, New York, 1999).

  21. Okamoto, K. Fundamentals of Optical Waveguides (Elsevier Academic, Burlington, Massachusetts, 2006).

  22. Nielson, G. N. Micro-opto-mechanical Switching and Tuning for Integrated Optical Systems. Thesis, MIT (2004).

  23. Sarid, D. Scanning Force Microscopy: With Applications to Electric, Magnetic, and Atomic Forces (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1994).

  24. Van Spengen, W. M., Puers, R. & De Wolf, I. A physical model to predict stiction in MEMS. J. Micromech. Microeng. 12, 702–713 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Israelachvili, J. N. Intermolecular and Surface Forces (Academic, London, San Diego, 1991).

  26. Maboudian, R. & Howe, R. T. Critical review: Adhesion in surface micromechanical structures. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 15, 1–20 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Srinivasan, U., Houston, M. R., Howe, R. T. & Maboudian, R. Alkyltrichlorosilane-based self-assembled monolayer films for stiction reduction in silicon micromachines. J. Microelectromech. Syst. 7, 252–260 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Popovic, M. Complex-Frequency Leaky Mode Computations Using PML Boundary Layers for Dielectric Resonant Structures. Proc. of Integrated Photon. Research 2003, Washington, DC, 17 June 2003.

  29. Jackson, J. D. Classical Electrodynamics (Wiley, New York, 1999).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Z. Wang for helpful technical discussions. This work was supported in part by the Army Research Office through the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies under Contract No. DAAD-19-02-D0002.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

M.A.P. and P.T.R. jointly proposed the concepts for resonant trapping, self-adaptive manipulation and resonant potential synthesis described here.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter T. Rakich.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rakich, P., Popović, M., Soljačić, M. et al. Trapping, corralling and spectral bonding of optical resonances through optically induced potentials. Nature Photon 1, 658–665 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2007.203

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2007.203

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing