arXiv subjects

Oskar Painter

Publications and source records attributed to Oskar Painter.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Two-dimensional phononic-photonic bandgap optomechanical crystal cavity

We present the fabrication and characterization of an artificial crystal structure formed from a thin-film of silicon which has a full phononic bandgap for microwave X-band phonons and a two-dimensional pseudo-bandgap for near-infrared photons. An engineered defect in the crystal structure is used to localize optical and mechanical resonances in the bandgap of the planar crystal. Two-tone optical spectroscopy is used to characterize the cavity system, showing a large vacuum coupling rate of 220kHz between the fundamental optical cavity resonance at 195THz and a co-localized mechanical resonance at 9.3GHz.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Highly efficient coupling from an optical fiber to a nanoscale silicon optomechanical cavity

We demonstrate highly efficient coupling of light from an optical fiber to a silicon photonic crystal optomechanical cavity. The fiber-to-cavity coupling utilizes a compact (L ~ 25 um) intermediate adiabatic coupler. The optical coupling is lithographically controlled, broadband, relatively insensitive to fiber misalignment, and allows for light to be transferred from an optical fiber to, in principle, any photonic chip with refractive index greater than that of the optical fiber. Here we demonstrate single-sided cavity coupling with a total fiber-to-cavity optical power coupling efficiency of 85%.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Comment on "A classical model for asymmetric sidebands in cavity optomechanical measurements"

We respond to a recent manuscript by Tsang [arXiv:1306.2699], on whether the measurement presented in Safavi-Naeini et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 033602 (2012)] can be explained "without reference to quantum mechanics". We show that the fully classical analysis provided by Tsang, and previously by Safavi-Naeini et al. [New J. Phys. 15, 035007 (2013)], has been ruled out by our published data. In addition, we discuss the role of the mathematical formulation used on the interpretation of the asymmetry effect, as has previously been considered by Khalili et al. [Phys. Rev. A 86, 033840 (2012)].

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Squeezing of light via reflection from a silicon micromechanical resonator

We present the measurement of squeezed light generation using an engineered optomechanical system fabricated from a silicon microchip and composed of a micromechanical resonator coupled to a nanophotonic cavity. Laser light is used to measure the fluctuations in the position of the mechanical resonator at a measurement rate comparable to the free dynamics of the mechanical resonator, and greater than its thermal decoherence rate. By approaching the strong continuous measurement regime we observe, through homodyne detection, non-trivial modifications of the reflected light's vacuum fluctuation spectrum. In spite of the mechanical resonator's highly excited thermal state ($10,000$ phonons), we observe squeezing at the level of $4.5 \pm 0.5%$ below that of shot-noise over a few MHz bandwidth around the mechanical resonance frequency of 28 MHz. This squeezing is interpreted as an unambiguous quantum signature of radiation pressure shot-noise.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Optical coupling to nanoscale optomechanical cavities for near quantum-limited motion transduction

A significant challenge in the development of chip-scale cavity-optomechanical devices as testbeds for quantum experiments and classical metrology lies in the coupling of light from nanoscale optical mode volumes to conventional optical components such as lenses and fibers. In this work we demonstrate a high-efficiency, single-sided fiber-optic coupling platform for optomechanical cavities. By utilizing an adiabatic waveguide taper to transform a single optical mode between a photonic crystal zipper cavity and a permanently mounted fiber, we achieve a collection efficiency for intracavity photons of 52% at the cavity resonance wavelength of 1538nm. An optical balanced homodyne measurement of the displacement fluctuations of the fundamental in-plane mechanical resonance at 3.3 MHz reveals that the imprecision noise floor lies a factor of 2.8 above the standard quantum limit (SQL) for continuous position measurement, with a predicted total added noise of 1.4 phonons at the optimal probe power. The combination of extremely low measurement noise and robust fiber alignment presents significant progress towards single-phonon sensitivity for these sorts of integrated micro-optomechanical cavities.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

A silicon-chip source of bright photon-pair comb

Integrated quantum photonics relies critically on the purity, scalability, integrability, and flexibility of a photon source to support diverse quantum functionalities on a single chip. Up to date, it remains an open challenge to realize an efficient monolithic photon-pair source for on-chip application. Here we report a device on the silicon-on-insulator platform that utilizes dramatic cavity enhanced four-wave mixing in a high-Q silicon microdisk resonator. The device is able to produce high-purity photon pairs in a comb fashion, with an unprecedented spectral brightness of $6.24 \times 10^7 {\rm pair/s/mW^2/GHz}$ and photon-pair correlation with a coincidence-to-accidental ratio of $1386 \pm 278$ while pumped with a continuous-wave laser. The superior performance, together with the structural compactness and CMOS compatibility, opens up a great avenue towards quantum silicon photonics with unprecedented capability of multi-channel parallel information processing for both integrated quantum computing and long-haul quantum communication.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Laser noise in cavity-optomechanical cooling and thermometry

We review and study the roles of quantum and classical fluctuations in recent cavity-optomechanical experiments which have now reached the quantum regime (mechanical phonon occupancy < 1) using resolved sideband laser cooling. In particular, both the laser noise heating of the mechanical resonator and the form of the optically transduced mechanical spectra, modified by quantum and classical laser noise squashing, are derived under various measurement conditions. Using this theory, we analyze our recent ground-state laser cooling and motional sideband asymmetry experiments with nanoscale optomechanical crystal resonators.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Slot-mode-coupled optomechanical crystals

We present a design methodology and analysis of a cavity optomechanical system in which a localized GHz frequency mechanical mode of a nanobeam resonator is evanescently coupled to a high quality factor (Q>10^6) optical mode of a separate nanobeam optical cavity. Using separate nanobeams provides flexibility, enabling the independent design and optimization of the optics and mechanics of the system. In addition, the small gap (approx. 25 nm) between the two resonators gives rise to a slot mode effect that enables a large zero-point optomechanical coupling strength to be achieved, with g/2pi > 300 kHz in a Si3N4 system at 980 nm and g/2pi approx. 900 kHz in a Si system at 1550 nm. The fact that large coupling strengths to GHz mechanical oscillators can be achieved in SiN is important, as this material has a broad optical transparency window, which allows operation throughout the visible and near-infrared. As an application of this platform, we consider wide-band optical frequency conversion between 1300 nm and 980 nm, using two optical nanobeam cavities coupled on either side to the breathing mode of a mechanical nanobeam resonator.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Enhanced quantum nonlinearities in a two mode optomechanical system

In cavity optomechanics, nanomechanical motion couples to a localized optical mode. The regime of single-photon strong coupling is reached when the optical shift induced by a single phonon becomes comparable to the cavity linewidth. We consider a setup in this regime comprising two optical modes and one mechanical mode. For mechanical frequencies nearly resonant to the optical level splitting, we find the photon-phonon and the photon-photon interactions to be significantly enhanced. In addition to dispersive phonon detection in a novel regime, this offers the prospect of optomechanical photon measurement. We study these QND detection processes using both analytical and numerical approaches.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Optimized optomechanical crystal cavity with acoustic radiation shield

We present the design of an optomechanical crystal nanobeam cavity that combines finite-element simulation with numerical optimization, and considers the optomechanical coupling arising from both moving dielectric boundaries and the photo-elastic effect. Applying this methodology results in a nanobeam with an experimentally realized intrinsic optical Q-factor of 1.2x10^6, a mechanical frequency of 5.1GHz, a mechanical Q-factor of 6.8x10^5 (at T=10K), and a zero-point-motion optomechanical coupling rate of g=1.1MHz.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Coherent optical wavelength conversion via cavity-optomechanics

We theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate coherent wavelength conversion of optical photons using photon-phonon translation in a cavity-optomechanical system. For an engineered silicon optomechanical crystal nanocavity supporting a 4 GHz localized phonon mode, optical signals in a 1.5 MHz bandwidth are coherently converted over a 11.2 THz frequency span between one cavity mode at wavelength 1460 nm and a second cavity mode at 1545 nm with a 93% internal (2% external) peak efficiency. The thermal and quantum limiting noise involved in the conversion process is also analyzed, and in terms of an equivalent photon number signal level are found to correspond to an internal noise level of only 6 and 4x10-3 quanta, respectively.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Quantum back-action in measurements of zero-point mechanical oscillations

Measurement-induced back action, a direct consequence of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, is the defining feature of quantum measurements. We use quantum measurement theory to analyze the recent experiment of Safavi-Naeini et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 108}, 033602 (2012)], and show that results of this experiment not only characterize the zero-point fluctuation of a near-ground-state nanomechanical oscillator, but also demonstrate the existence of quantum back-action noise --- through correlations that exist between sensing noise and back-action noise. These correlations arise from the quantum coherence between the mechanical oscillator and the measuring device, which build up during the measurement process, and are key to improving sensitivities beyond the Standard Quantum Limit.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

A microchip optomechanical accelerometer

The monitoring of accelerations is essential for a variety of applications ranging from inertial navigation to consumer electronics. The basic operation principle of an accelerometer is to measure the displacement of a flexibly mounted test mass; sensitive displacement measurement can be realized using capacitive, piezo-electric, tunnel-current, or optical methods. While optical readout provides superior displacement resolution and resilience to electromagnetic interference, current optical accelerometers either do not allow for chip-scale integration or require bulky test masses. Here we demonstrate an optomechanical accelerometer that employs ultra-sensitive all-optical displacement read-out using a planar photonic crystal cavity monolithically integrated with a nano-tethered test mass of high mechanical Q-factor. This device architecture allows for full on-chip integration and achieves a broadband acceleration resolution of 10 μg/rt-Hz, a bandwidth greater than 20 kHz, and a dynamic range of 50 dB with sub-milliwatt optical power requirements. Moreover, the nano-gram test masses used here allow for optomechanical back-action in the form of cooling or the optical spring effect, setting the stage for a new class of motional sensors.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Chip-based Brillouin lasers as spectral purifiers for photonic systems

High coherence lasers are essential in a wide range of applications, however, such performance is normally associated with large laser cavities, because increasing energy storage reduces quantum phase noise and also renders the laser frequency less sensitive to cavity vibration. This basic scaling rule is at odds with an emerging set of optical systems that place focus on compact (optimally integrable) sources of high coherence light. These include phase-coherent optical communication using quadrature-amplitude-modulation, and also record-low phase noise microwave sources based upon optical comb techniques. In this work, the first, chip-based Brillouin laser is demonstrated. It features high-efficiency and single-line operation with the smallest recorded Schawlow-Townes frequency noise for any chip-based laser. Because the frequency offset between the laser's emission and the input pump is relatively small, the device provides a new function: spectral purification of compact, low coherence sources such as semiconductor lasers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Ultra-high-Q wedge-resonator on a silicon chip

Ultra-high-Q optical resonators are being studied across a wide range of research subjects including quantum information, nonlinear optics, cavity optomechanics, and telecommunications. Here, we demonstrate a new, resonator on-a-chip with a record Q factor of 875 million, surpassing even microtoroids. Significantly, these devices avoid a highly specialized processing step that has made it difficult to integrate microtoroids with other photonic devices and to also precisely control their size. Thus, these devices not only set a new benchmark for Q factor on a chip, but also provide, for the first time, full compatibility of this important device class with conventional semiconductor processing. This feature will greatly expand the possible kinds of system on a chip functions enabled by ultra-high-Q devices.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

A chip-scale integrated cavity-electro-optomechanics platform

We present an integrated optomechanical and electromechanical nanocavity, in which a common mechanical degree of freedom is coupled to an ultrahigh-Q photonic crystal defect cavity and an electrical circuit. The sys- tem allows for wide-range, fast electrical tuning of the optical nanocavity resonances, and for electrical control of optical radiation pressure back-action effects such as mechanical amplification (phonon lasing), cooling, and stiffening. These sort of integrated devices offer a new means to efficiently interconvert weak microwave and optical signals, and are expected to pave the way for a new class of micro-sensors utilizing optomechanical back-action for thermal noise reduction and low-noise optical read-out.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Measurement of the quantum zero-point motion of a nanomechanical resonator

We present optical sideband spectroscopy measurements of a mesoscopic mechanical oscillator cooled near its quantum ground state. The mechanical oscillator, corresponding to a 3.99GHz acoustic mode of a patterned silicon nanobeam, is coupled via radiation pressure to a pair of co-localized 200THz optical modes. The mechanical mode is cooled close to its quantum ground state from a bath temperature of 18K using radiation pressure back-action stemming from the optical pumping of one of the optical cavity resonances. An optical probe beam, resonant with the second optical cavity resonance, is used to transduce the mechanical motion and determine the phonon occupancy of the mechanical mode. Measurement of the asymmetry between up-converted and down-converted photons of the probe beam yields directly the displacement noise power associated with the quantum zero-point motion of the mechanical oscillator, and provides an absolute calibration of the average phonon occupancy of the mechanical mode.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Laser cooling of a nanomechanical oscillator into its quantum ground state

A patterned Si nanobeam is formed which supports co-localized acoustic and optical resonances that are coupled via radiation pressure. Starting from a bath temperature of T=20K, the 3.68GHz nanomechanical mode is cooled into its quantum mechanical ground state utilizing optical radiation pressure. The mechanical mode displacement fluctuations, imprinted on the transmitted cooling laser beam, indicate that a final phonon mode occupancy of 0.85 +-0.04 is obtained.

quant-ph↗