arXiv subjects

C. M. Sotomayor-Torres

Publications and source records attributed to C. M. Sotomayor-Torres.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Quantum thermometry with single molecules in portable nanoprobes

Understanding heat transport is relevant to develop efficient strategies for thermal management in microelectronics for instance, as well as for fundamental science purposes. However, measuring temperatures in nanostructured environments and in cryogenic conditions remains a challenging task, that requires both high sentitivity and a non-invasive approach. Here we present a portable nanothermometer based on a molecular two-level quantum system that operates in the 3 - 30 K temperature range, with excellent temperature and spatial resolutions on the order of mK and $μ$m, respectively. We validate the performance of this molecular thermometer on nanostructures, by estimating the thermal conductivity of a patterned silicon membrane. In addition, we demonstrate the two-dimensional temperature mapping of a patterned surface via the simultaneous spectroscopy of all thermometers deposited on a sample. These results demonstrate the potential of this molecular thermometer to explore thermal properties and related phenomena at cryogenic temperatures.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2022

Engineering nanoscale hypersonic phonon transport

Controlling the vibrations in solids is crucial to tailor their mechanical properties and their interaction with light. Thermal vibrations represent a source of noise and dephasing for many physical processes at the quantum level. One strategy to avoid these vibrations is to structure a solid such that it possesses a phononic stop band, i.e., a frequency range over which there are no available mechanical modes. Here, we demonstrate the complete absence of mechanical vibrations at room temperature over a broad spectral window, with a 5.3 GHz wide band gap centered at 8.4 GHz in a patterned silicon nanostructure membrane measured using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. By constructing a line-defect waveguide, we directly measure GHz localized modes at room temperature. Our experimental results of thermally excited guided mechanical modes at GHz frequencies provides an eficient platform for photon-phonon integration with applications in optomechanics and signal processing transduction.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Room-temperature silicon platform for GHz-frequency nano-electro-opto-mechanical systems

Nano-electro-opto-mechanical systems enable the synergistic coexistence of electrical, mechanical, and optical signals on a chip to realize new functions. Most of the technology platforms proposed for the fabrication of these systems so far are not fully compatible with the mainstream CMOS technology, thus hindering mass-scale utilization. We have developed a CMOS technology platform for nano-electro-opto-mechanical systems that includes piezoelectric interdigitated transducers for electronic driving of mechanical signals and nanocrystalline silicon nanobeams for enhanced optomechanical interaction. Room temperature operation of devices at 2 GHz and with peak sensitivity down to 2.6 cavity phonons is demonstrated. Our proof-of-principle technology platform can be integrated and interfaced with silicon photonics, electronics, and MEMS devices and may enable multiple functions for coherent signal processing in the classical and quantum domains.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Optomechanical crystals for spatial sensing of submicron sized analytes

Optomechanical crystal cavities have rich perspectives for detecting and indirectly analysing biological particles, such as proteins, bacteria and viruses. In this work we demonstrate the working principle of an optomechanical crystal cavity operating under ambient conditions as a sensor of submicrometer analytes by optically monitoring the frequency shift of thermally activated mechanical modes. The resonator has been specifically designed so that the cavity region supports a particular family of low modal-volume mechanical modes, commonly known as -pinch modes-. These involve the oscillation of only a couple of adjacent cavity cells that are relatively insensitive to perturbations in other parts of the resonator. The eigenfrequency of these modes decreases as the deformation is localized closer to the centre of the resonator. Thus, by identifying specific modes that undergo a frequency shift that amply exceeds the mechanical linewidth, it is possible to infer if there are particles deposited on the resonator, how many are there and their approximate position within the cavity region.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Ferromagnetic resonance assisted optomechanical magnetometer

The resonant enhancement of mechanical and optical interaction in optomechanical cavities enables their use as extremely sensitive displacement and force detectors. In this work we demonstrate a hybrid magnetometer that exploits the coupling between the resonant excitation of spin waves in a ferromagnetic insulator and the resonant excitation of the breathing mechanical modes of a glass microsphere deposited on top. The interaction is mediated by magnetostriction in the ferromagnetic material and the consequent mechanical driving of the microsphere. The magnetometer response thus relies on the spectral overlap between the ferromagnetic resonance and the mechanical modes of the sphere, leading to a peak sensitivity better than 900 pT Hz$^{-1/2}$ at 206 MHz when the overlap is maximized. By externally tuning the ferromagnetic resonance frequency with a static magnetic field we demonstrate sensitivity values at resonance around a few nT Hz$^{-1/2}$ up to the GHz range. Our results show that our hybrid system can be used to build high-speed sensor of oscillating magnetic fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Impact of the regularization parameter in the Mean Free Path reconstruction method: Nanoscale heat transport and beyond

The understanding of the mean free path (MFP) distribution of the energy carriers in materials (e.g. electrons, phonons, magnons, etc.) is a key physical insight into their transport properties. In this context, MFP spectroscopy has become an important tool to describe the contribution of carriers with different MFP to the total transport phenomenon. In this work, we revise the MFP reconstruction technique and present a study on the impact of the regularization parameter on the MFP distribution of the energy carriers. By using the L-curve criterion, we calculate the optimal mathematical value of the regularization parameter. The effect of the change from the optimal value in the MFP distribution is analyzed in three case studies of heat transport by phonons. These results demonstrate that the choice of the regularization parameter has a large impact on the physical information obtained from the reconstructed accumulation function, and thus cannot be chosen arbitrarily. The approach can be applied to various transport phenomena at the nanoscale involving carriers of different physical nature and behavior.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Coherent generation and detection of acoustic phonons in topological nanocavities

Inspired by concepts developed for fermionic systems in the framework of condensed matter physics, topology and topological states are recently being explored also in bosonic systems. The possibility of engineering systems with unidirectional wave propagation and protected against disorder is at the heart of this growing interest. Topogical acoustic effects have been observed in a variety of systems, most of them based on kHz-MHz sound waves, with typical wavelength of the order of the centimeter. Recently, some of these concepts have been successfully transferred to acoustic phonons in nanoscaled multilayered systems. The reported demonstration of confined topological phononic modes was based on Raman scattering spectroscopy, yet the resolution did not suffice to determine lifetimes and to identify other acoustic modes in the system. Here, we use time-resolved pump-probe measurements using an asynchronous optical sampling (ASOPS) technique to overcome these resolution limitations. By means of one-dimensional GaAs/AlAs distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) as building blocks, we engineer high frequency ($\sim$ 200 GHz) topological acoustic interface states. We are able to clearly distinguish confined topological states from stationary band edge modes. The detection scheme reflects the symmetry of the modes directly through the selection rules, evidencing the topological nature of the measured confined state. These experiments enable a new tool in the study of the more complex topology-driven phonon dynamics such as phonon nonlinearities and optomechanical systems with simultaneous confinement of light and sound.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Synchronization of optomechanical cavities by mechanical interaction

The synchronization of coupled oscillators is a phenomenon found throughout nature. Mechanical oscillators are paradigmatic among such systems, but realising them at the nanoscale is challenging. We report synchronization of the mechanical dynamics of a pair of optomechanical crystal cavities that are intercoupled with a mechanical link and support independent optical modes. In this regime they oscillate in anti-phase, which is in agreement with the predictions of our numerical model that considers reactive coupling. Finally, we show how to temporarily disable synchronization of the coupled system by actuating one of the cavities with a heating laser, so that both cavities oscillate independently. Our results can be upscaled to more than two cavities and are thus the first step towards realizing integrated networks of synchronized optomechanical oscillators. Such networks promise unparalleled performances for time-keeping and sensing purposes and unveil a new route for neuromorphic computing applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Optical modulation of coherent phonon emission in optomechanical cavities

Optomechanical structures are well suited to study photon-phonon interactions, and they also turn out to be potential building blocks for phononic circuits and quantum computing. In phononic circuits, in which information is carried and processed by phonons, optomechanical structures could be used as interfaces to photons and electrons thanks to their excellent coupling efficiency. Among the components required for phononic circuits, such structures could be used to create coherent phonon sources and detectors. Complex functions other than emission or detection remain challenging and addressing a single structure in a full network proves a formidable challenge. Here, we propose and demonstrate a way to modulate the coherent emission from optomechanical crystals by external optical pumping, effectively creating a phonon switch working at ambient conditions of pressure and temperature and the working speed of which (5 MHz) is only limited by the mechanical motion of the optomechanical structure. We additionally demonstrate two other switching schemes: harmonic switching in which the mechanical mode remains active but different harmonics of the optical force are used, and switching to- and from the chaotic regime. Furthermore, the method presented here allows to select any single structure without affecting its surroundings, which is an important step towards freely controllable networks of optomechanical phonon emitters.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Unveiled electric profiles within hydrogen bonds suggest DNA base pairs with similar bond strengths

Electrical forces are the background of all the interactions occurring in biochemical systems. From here and by using a combination of ab-initio and ad-hoc models, we introduce the first description of electric field profiles with intrabond resolution to support a characterization of single bond forces attending to its electrical origin. This fundamental issue has eluded a physical description so far. Our method is applied to describe hydrogen bonds (HB) in DNA base pairs. Numerical results reveal that base pairs in DNA could be equivalent considering HB strength contributions, which challenges previous interpretations of thermodynamic properties of DNA based on the assumption that Adenine/Thymine pairs are weaker than Guanine/Cytosine pairs due to the sole difference in the number of HB. Thus, our methodology provides solid foundations to support the development of extended models intended to go deeper into the molecular mechanisms of DNA functioning.

q-bio.BM↗

arXiv2018

Nanocrystalline silicon optomechanical cavities

Silicon on insulator photonics has offered a versatile platform for the recent development of integrated optomechanical circuits. However, there are some constraints such as the high cost of the wafers and limitation to a single physical device level. In the present work we investigate nanocrystalline silicon as an alternative material for optomechanical devices. In particular, we demonstrate that optomechanical crystal cavities fabricated of nanocrystalline silicon have optical and mechanical properties enabling non-linear dynamical behaviour and effects such as thermo-optic/free-carrier-dispersion self-pulsing, phonon lasing and chaos, all at low input laser power and with typical frequencies as high as 0.3 GHz.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2017

Mechanical oscillations in lasing microspheres

We investigate the feasibility of activating coherent mechanical oscillations in lasing microspheres by modulating the laser emission at a mechanical eigenfrequency. To this aim, 1.5% Nd3+:Barium-Titanium-Silicate microspheres with diameters around 50 μm were used as high quality factor (Q>10^6) whispering gallery mode lasing cavities. We have implemented a pump-and-probe technique in which the pump laser used to excite the Nd3+ ions is focused on a single microsphere with a microscope objective and a probe laser excites a specific optical mode with the evanescent field of a tapered fibre. The studied microspheres show monomode and multi-mode lasing action, which can be modulated in the best case up to 10 MHz. We have optically transduced thermally-activated mechanical eigenmodes appearing in the 50-70 MHz range, the frequency of which decreases with increasing the size of the microspheres. In a pump-and-probe configuration we observed modulation of the probe signal up to the maximum pump modulation frequency of our experimental setup, i.e., 20 MHz. This modulation decreases with frequency and is unrelated to lasing emission, pump scattering or thermal effects. We associate this effect to free-carrier-dispersion induced by multiphoton pump light absorption. On the other hand, we conclude that, in our current experimental conditions, it was not possible to resonantly excite the mechanical modes. Finally, we discuss on how to overcome these limitations by increasing the modulation frequency of the lasing emission and decreasing the frequency of the mechanical eigenmodes displaying a strong degree of optomechanical coupling.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2017

Orthotropic Piezoelectricity in 2D Nanocellulose

The control of electromechanical responses within bonding regions is essential to face frontier challenges in nanotechnologies, such as molecular electronics and biotechnology. Here, we present I\b{eta}-nanocellulose as a potentially new orthotropic 2D piezoelectric crystal. The predicted in-layer piezoelectricity is originated on a sui-generis hydrogen bonds pattern. Upon this fact and by using a combination of ab-initio and ad-hoc models, we introduce a description of electrical profiles along chemical bonds. Such developments lead to obtain a rationale for modelling the extended piezoelectric effect originated within bond scales. The order of magnitude estimated for the 2D I\b{eta}-nanocellulose piezoelectric response, ~pm V-1, ranks this material at the level of currently used piezoelectric energy generators and new artificial 2D designs. Such finding would be crucial for developing alternative materials to drive emerging nanotechnologies.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Nonlinear dynamics and chaos in an optomechanical beam

Optical non-linearities, such as thermo-optic effects and free-carrier-dispersion, are often considered as undesired effects in silicon-based resonators and, more specifically, optomechanical (OM) cavities, affecting the relative detuning between an optical resonance and the excitation laser. However, the interplay between such mechanisms could also enable unexpected physical phenomena to be used in new applications. In the present work, we exploit those non-linearities and their intercoupling with the mechanical degrees of freedom of a silicon OM nanobeam to unveil a rich set of fundamentally different complex dynamics. By smoothly changing the parameters of the excitation laser, namely its power and wavelength, we demonstrate accurate control for activating bi-dimensional and tetra-dimensional limit-cycles, a period doubling route and chaos. In addition, by scanning the laser parameters in opposite senses we demonstrate bistability and hysteresis between bi-dimensional and tetra-dimensional limit-cycles, between different coherent mechanical states and between tetra-dimensional limit-cycles and chaos. As a result of implementing the Rosenstein algorithm to the experimental time series we have extracted a Largest Lyapunov Exponent of LLE=1.3x10^5 s-1, which is between one and two orders of magnitude lower than the typical oscillating frequencies of the system. Most of the experimental features can be well reproduced with a model of first-order non-linear differential equations coupled through the number of intracavity photons. Our findings open several routes towards exploiting silicon-based OM photonic crystals for systems with memory and, more specifically, for chaos based applications such as secure information transfer or sensing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2016

Optical and mechanical mode tuning in an optomechanical crystal with light-induced thermal effects

We report on the modification of the optical and mechanical properties of a silicon 1D optomechanical crystal cavity due to thermo-optic effects in a high phonon/photon population regime. The cavity heats up due to light absorption in a way that shifts the optical modes towards longer wavelengths and the mechanical modes to lower frequencies. By combining the experimental optical results with finite-difference time-domain simulations we establish a direct relation between the observed wavelength drift and the actual effective temperature increase of the cavity. By assuming that the Young's modulus decreases accordingly to the temperature increase, we find a good agreement between the mechanical mode drift predicted using a finite element method and the experimental one.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2010

Probing the electron-phonon coupling in ozone-doped graphene by Raman spectroscopy

We have investigated the effects of ozone treatment on graphene by Raman scattering. Sequential ozone short-exposure cycles resulted in increasing the $p$ doping levels as inferred from the blue shift of the 2$D$ and $G$ peak frequencies, without introducing significant disorder. The two-phonon 2$D$ and 2$D'$ Raman peak intensities show a significant decrease, while, on the contrary, the one-phonon G Raman peak intensity remains constant for the whole exposure process. The former reflects the dynamics of the photoexcited electrons (holes) and, specifically, the increase of the electron-electron scattering rate with doping. From the ratio of 2$D$ to 2$D$ intensities, which remains constant with doping, we could extract the ratio of electron-phonon coupling parameters. This ratio is found independent on the number of layers up to ten layers. Moreover, the rate of decrease of 2$D$ and 2$D'$ intensities with doping was found to slowdown inversely proportional to the number of graphene layers, revealing the increase of the electron-electron collision probability.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗