Abstract
Optical forces can produce significant mechanical effects in micro- and nanophotonic systems. Here we demonstrate a novel optomechanical system using a movable, micrometre-scale waveguide evanescently coupled to a high-Q optical microresonator. Micrometre-scale displacements of the waveguide are observed for milliwatt-level optical input powers. Measurement of the spatial variation of the force on the waveguide indicates that it arises from a cavity-enhanced optical dipole force resulting from the stored optical field of the resonator. This force is used to realize an all-optical tunable filter operating with submilliwatt control power. A theoretical model of the system shows that the maximum achievable force is independent of the intrinsic Q of the optical resonator and scales inversely with the cavity mode volume, suggesting that such forces may become even more effective as devices approach the nanoscale.
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Acknowledgements
The authors sincerely thank T. Johnson, P. Barclay and K. Srinivasan for many fruitful discussions and helpful feedback.
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Eichenfield, M., Michael, C., Perahia, R. et al. Actuation of micro-optomechanical systems via cavity-enhanced optical dipole forces. Nature Photon 1, 416–422 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2007.96
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2007.96
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