arXiv subjects

Jason J. Gorman

Publications and source records attributed to Jason J. Gorman.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Emergence of millimeter-wave resonances in self-assembled ferroelectric metamaterials

Resonators are a key component in modern communications and computing. As demand and technological advances push component requirements into the terahertz regime, there is significant research devoted to the search for resonances at these frequencies. While uniform solid-state materials usually do not intrinsically feature resonances in this frequency range, self-assembled periodic arrays of ferroelectric nanodomains may provide an engineering route to design millimeter-wave properties. Here, we utilize prototypical dielectric-ferroelectric SrTiO3/PbTiO3 superlattices to robustly design periodic ferroelectric nano-scale domains. Phase field simulations predict an emergent domain breathing mode in complex polar textures and state-of-the-art millimeter-wave characterization shows evidence for such emergent resonances up to hundreds of GHz. Complex polar textures in these superlattices lead to emergent piezoelectric properties that also result in millimeter-wave resonances, which are predicted by second principles methods and confirmed by direct measurement. The principles investigated in this work suggest a new modality for ferroelectrics in the design of millimeter-wave electronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Accurate, precise pressure sensing with tethered optomechanics

We show that optomechanical pressure sensors with characterized density and thickness can achieve uncertainty as low as 1.1 % via comparison with a secondary pressure standard. The agreement between the secondary standard and our optomechanical sensors is a necessary step towards using optomechanical devices as primary pressure sensors. Our silicon nitride and silicon carbide sensors are short-term and long-term stable, displaying Allan deviations compatible with better than 1 % precision and baseline drift significantly lower than the secondary standard. Our measurements also yield the in situ thin-film density of our sensors with 1 % total uncertainty or lower, aiding development of other optomechanical sensors. Our results demonstrate that optomechanical pressure sensors can achieve accuracy, precision, and drift sufficient to replace high performance legacy pressure gauges.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2024

Low-power, agile electro-optic frequency comb spectrometer for integrated sensors

Sensing platforms based upon photonic integrated circuits have shown considerable promise; however, they require corresponding advancements in integrated optical readout technologies. Here, we present an on-chip spectrometer that leverages an integrated thin-film lithium niobate modulator to produce a frequency-agile electro-optic frequency comb for interrogating chip-scale temperature and acceleration sensors. The chirped comb process allows for ultralow radiofrequency drive voltages, which are as much as seven orders of magnitude less than the lowest found in the literature and are generated using a chip-scale, microcontroller-driven direct digital synthesizer. The on-chip comb spectrometer is able to simultaneously interrogate both an on-chip temperature sensor and an off-chip, microfabricated optomechanical accelerometer with cutting-edge sensitivities of $\approx 5\ μ \mathrm{K} \cdot \mathrm{Hz}^{-1/2}$ and $\approx 130\ μ\mathrm{m} \cdot \mathrm{s}^{-2} \cdot \mathrm{Hz}^{-1/2}$, respectively. This platform is compatible with a broad range of existing photonic integrated circuit technologies, where its combination of frequency agility and ultralow radiofrequency power requirements are expected to have applications in fields such as quantum science and optical computing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Cavity optomechanical bistability with an ultrahigh reflectivity photonic crystal membrane

Photonic crystal (PhC) membranes patterned with sub-wavelength periods offer a unique combination of high reflectivity, low mass, and high mechanical quality factor. We demonstrate a PhC membrane that we use as one mirror of a Fabry-Perot cavity with finesse as high as $F=35,000(500)$, corresponding to a record high PhC reflectivity of $R=0.999835(6)$. The fundamental mechanical frequency is 426 kHz, more than twice the optical linewidth, placing it firmly in the resolved-sideband regime. The mechanical quality factor in vacuum is $Q=1.1(1)\times 10^6$, allowing us to achieve values of the single-photon cooperativity as high as ${\cal C}_0=6.6\times10^{-3}$. We easily see optomechanical bistability as hysteresis in the cavity transmission. As the input power is raised well beyond the bistability threshold, dynamical backaction induces strong mechanical oscillation above 1~MHz, even in the presence of air damping. This platform will facilitate advances in optomechanics, precision sensing, and applications of optomechanically-induced bistability.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Intrinsically accurate sensing with an optomechanical accelerometer

We demonstrate a microfabricated optomechanical accelerometer that is capable of percent-level accuracy without external calibration. To achieve this capability, we use a mechanical model of the device behavior that can be characterized by the thermal noise response along with an optical frequency comb readout method that enables high sensitivity, high bandwidth, high dynamic range, and SI-traceable displacement measurements. The resulting intrinsic accuracy was evaluated over a wide frequency range by comparing to a primary vibration calibration system and local gravity. The average agreement was found to be 2.1 % for the calibration system between 0.1 kHz and 15 kHz and better than 0.2 % for the static acceleration. This capability has the potential to replace costly external calibrations and improve the accuracy of inertial guidance systems and remotely deployed accelerometers. Due to the fundamental nature of the intrinsic accuracy approach, it could be extended to other optomechanical transducers, including force and pressure sensors.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Existence Conditions for Phononic Frequency Combs

The mechanical analog of optical frequency combs, phononic frequency combs, has recently been demonstrated in mechanical resonators and has been attributed to coupling between multiple phonon modes. This paper investigates the influence of mode structure on comb generation using a model of two nonlinearly coupled phonon modes. The model predicts that there is only one region within the amplitude-frequency space where combs exist, and this region is a subset of the Arnold tongue that describes a 2:1 autoparametric resonance between the two modes. In addition, the location and shape of the comb region are analytically defined by the resonance frequencies, quality factors, mode coupling strength, and detuning of the driving force frequency from the mechanical resonances, providing clear conditions for comb generation. These results enable comb structure engineering for applications in areas as broad as sensing, communications, and quantum information science.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Broadband Optomechanical Sensing at the Thermodynamic Limit

Cavity optomechanics has opened new avenues of research in both fundamental physics and precision measurement by significantly advancing the sensitivity achievable in detecting attonewton forces, nanoparticles, magnetic fields, and gravitational waves. A fundamental limit to sensitivity for these measurements is energy exchange with the environment as described by the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. While the limiting sensitivity can be increased by increasing the mass or reducing the damping of the mechanical sensing element, these design tradeoffs lead to larger detectors or limit the range of mechanical frequencies that can be measured, excluding the bandwidth requirements for many real-world applications. We report on a microfabricated optomechanical sensing platform based on a Fabry-Perot microcavity and show that when operating as an accelerometer it can achieve nearly ideal broadband performance at the thermodynamic limit (Brownian motion of the proof mass) with the highest sensitivity reported to date over a wide frequency range ($314\,nm \cdot s^{-2}/\sqrt{Hz}$ over 6.8 kHz). This approach is applicable to a range of measurements from pressure and force sensing to seismology and gravimetry, including searches for new physics such as non-Newtonian gravity or dark matter.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Direct visualization of electromagnetic wave dynamics by laser-free ultrafast electron microscopy

Integrating femtosecond (fs) lasers to electron microscopies has enabled direct imaging of transient structures and morphologies of materials in real time and space, namely, ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM). Here we report the development of a laser-free UEM offering the same capability of real-time imaging with high spatiotemporal resolutions but without requiring expensive fs lasers and intricate instrumental modifications. We create picosecond electron pulses for probing dynamic events by chopping a continuous beam with a radiofrequency (RF)-driven pulser, where the repetition rate of the electron pulses is tunable from 100 MHz to 12 GHz. A same broadband of electromagnetic wave is enabled for sample excitation. As a first application, we studied the GHz electromagnetic wave propagation dynamics in an interdigitated comb structure which is one of the basic building blocks for RF micro-electromechanical systems. A series of pump-probe images reveals, on nanometer space and picosecond time scales, the transient oscillating electromagnetic field around the tines of the combs, and time-resolved polarization, amplitude, and nonlinear local field enhancement. The success of this study demonstrates the feasibility of the low-cost laser-free UEM in real-space visualizing of dynamics for many research fields, especially the electrodynamics in devices associated with information processing technology.

physics.app-ph↗