High-Q trampoline resonators from strained crystalline InGaP for integrated free-space optomechanics

Abstract

Tensile-strained materials have been used to fabricate nano- and micromechanical resonators with ultra-low mechanical dissipation in the kHz to MHz frequency range. These mechanical resonators are of particular interest for force sensing applications and quantum optomechanics at room temperature. Tensile-strained crystalline materials that are compatible with epitaxial growth of heterostructures would thereby allow realizing monolithic free-space optomechanical devices, which benefit from stability, ultra-small mode volumes, and scalability. In our work, we demonstrate string- and trampoline resonators made from tensile-strained InGaP, which is a crystalline material that can be epitaxially grown on an AlGaAs heterostructure. The strain of the InGaP layer is defined via its Ga content when grown on (Al,Ga)As. In our case, we realize devices with a stress of up to 470\,MPa along the $[1\,1\,0]$ crystal direction. We characterize the mechanical properties of the suspended InGaP devices, such as anisotropic stress, yield strength, and intrinsic quality factor. We find that the latter degrades over time. We reach mechanical quality factors surpassing $10^7$ at room temperature with a $Q\cdot f$-product as high as $7\cdot10^{11}\,$Hz with trampoline-shaped micromechanical resonators, which exploit strain engineering to dilute mechanical dissipation. The large area of the suspended trampoline resonator allows us to pattern a photonic crystal to engineer its out-of-plane reflectivity in the telecom band, which is desired for efficient signal transduction of mechanical motion to light. Stabilization of the intrinsic quality factor together with a further reduction of mechanical dissipation through hierarchical clamping or machine learning-based optimization methods paves the way for integrated free-space quantum optomechanics at room temperature in a crystalline material platform.