arXiv subjects

Tal Carmon

Publications and source records attributed to Tal Carmon.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Brillouin cavity optomechanics with microfluidic devices

Cavity optomechanics allows the parametric coupling of phonon- and photon-modes in microresonators and is presently investigated in a broad variety of solid-state systems. Optomechanics with superfluids has been proposed as a path towards ultra-low optical- and mechanical-dissipation. However, there have been no optomechanics experiments reported with non-solid phases of matter. Direct liquid immersion of optomechanics experiments is challenging since the acoustic energy simply leaks out to the higher-impedance liquid surrounding the device. Conversely, here we confine liquids inside hollow resonators thereby enabling optical excitation of mechanical whispering-gallery modes at frequencies ranging from 2 MHz to 11,000 MHz (for example, with mechanical Q = 4700 at 99 MHz). Vibrations are sustained even when we increase the fluid viscosity to be higher than that of blood. Our device enables optomechanical investigation with liquids, while light is conventionally coupled from the outer dry side of the capillary, and liquids are provided by means of a standard microfluidic inlet.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Cavity optomechanics on a microfluidic resonator with water and viscous liquids

Currently, optical- or mechanical-resonances are commonly used in microfluidic research. However, optomechanical oscillations by light pressure were not shown with liquids. This is because replacing the surrounding air with water inherently increases the acoustical impedance and hence the associated acoustical radiation-losses. Here, we bridge between microfluidics and optomechanics by fabricating hollow bubble resonators with liquid inside and optically exciting 100-MHz vibrations with only mW optical-input power. This constitutes the first time that any microfluidic system is optomechanically actuated. We further prove the feasibility of microfluidic optomechanics on liquids by demonstrating vibrations on organic fluids with viscous-dissipation higher than blood viscosity while measuring density changes in the liquid via the vibration frequency shift. Our device will enable using cavity optomechanics for studying non-solid phases of matter.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Continuous-wave Cascaded-Harmonic Generation and Multi-Photon Raman Lasing in Lithium Niobate Whispering-Gallery Resonators

We report experimental demonstration of continuous-wave cascaded-harmonic generation and Raman lasing in a millimeter-scale lithium niobate whispering-gallery resonator pumped at a telecommunication-compatible infrared wavelength. Intensity enhancement through multiple recirculations in the whispering-gallery resonator and quasi phase-matching through a nonuniform crystal poling enable simultaneous cascaded-harmonic generation up to the fourth-harmonic accompanied by stimulated Raman, two-photon, three-photon, and four-photon Raman scattering corresponding the molecular vibrational wavenumbers 632 cm-1 and 255 cm-1 in z-cut lithium niobate at pump power levels as low as 200mW. We demonstrate simultaneous cascaded-harmonic generation and Raman lasing by observing the spectrum of the scattered light from the resonator and by capturing the image of the decoupled light from the resonator on a color CCD camera.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Observation of Spontaneous Brillouin Cooling

While radiation-pressure cooling is well known, the Brillouin scattering of light from sound is considered an acousto-optical amplification-only process. It was suggested that cooling could be possible in multi-resonance Brillouin systems when phonons experience lower damping than light. However, this regime was not accessible in traditional Brillouin systems since backscattering enforces high acoustical frequencies associated with high mechanical damping. Recently, forward Brillouin scattering in microcavities has allowed access to low-frequency acoustical modes where mechanical dissipation is lower than optical dissipation, in accordance with the requirements for cooling. Here we experimentally demonstrate cooling via such a forward Brillouin process in a microresonator. We show two regimes of operation for the Brillouin process: acoustical amplification as is traditional, but also for the first time, a Brillouin cooling regime. Cooling is mediated by an optical pump, and scattered light, that beat and electrostrictively attenuate the Brownian motion of the mechanical mode.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Stimulated optomechanical excitation of surface acoustic waves in a microdevice

Stimulated Brillouin interaction between sound and light, known to be the strongest optical nonlinearity common to all amorphous and crystalline dielectrics, has been widely studied in fibers and bulk materials but rarely in optical microresonators. The possibility of experimentally extending this principle to excite mechanical resonances in photonic microsystems, for sensing and frequency reference applications, has remained largely unexplored. The challenge lies in the fact that microresonators inherently have large free spectral range, while the phase matching considerations for the Brillouin process require optical modes of nearby frequencies but with different wavevectors. We rely on high-order transverse optical modes to relax this limitation. Here we report on the experimental excitation of mechanical resonances ranging from 49 to 1400 MHz by using forward Brillouin scattering. These natural mechanical resonances are excited in ~100 um silica microspheres, and are of a surface-acoustic whispering-gallery type.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Brillouin Cooling

We analyze how to exploit Brillouin scattering for the purpose of cooling opto-mechanical devices and present a quantum-mechanical theory for Brillouin cooling. Our analysis shows that significant cooling ratios can be obtained with standard experimental parameters. A further improvement of cooling efficiency is possible by increasing the dissipation of the optical anti-Stokes resonance.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Surface optomechanics: Calculating optically excited acoustical whispering gallery modes in microspheres

Stimulated Brillouin scattering recently allowed experimental excitation of surface acoustic resonances in micro-devices, enabling vibration at rates in the range of 50 MHz to 12 GHz. The experimental availability of such mechanical whispering gallery modes in photonic-MEMS raises questions on their structure and spectral distribution. Here we calculate the form and frequency of such vibrational surface whispering gallery modes, revealing diverse types of surface vibrations including longitudinal, transverse, and Rayleigh-type deformations. We parametrically investigate these various modes by changing their orders in the azimuthal, radial, and polar directions to reveal different vibrational structures including mechanical resonances that are localized near the interface with the environment where they can sense changes in the surroundings.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Precession Optomechanics

We propose a light-structure interaction that utilizes circularly polarized light to deform a slightly bent waveguide. The mechanism allows for flipping the direction of deformation upon changing the binary polarization state of light from -\hbar to +\hbar.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2010

Phase Noise Modeling of Opto-Mechanical Oscillators

We build upon and derive a precise far from carrier phase noise model for radiation pressure driven opto-mechanical oscillators and show that calculations based on our model accurately match published phase noise data for such oscillators. Furthermore, we derive insights based on the equations presented and calculate phase noise for an array of coupled disk resonators, showing that it is possible to achieve phase noise as low as -80 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz offset for a 54 MHz opto-mechanical oscillator.

physics.optics↗