Researchers from NIST and Caltech have developed a new platform for measuring and exploiting strong interactions between light and mechanical systems at the nanoscale. The platform uses two silicon nitride nanobeams held close together, with one supporting a mechanical vibration mode and the other a confined optical mode. This design allows for strong radiation pressure interactions between the light and mechanical systems, while enabling independent design of the optical and mechanical components.
The new platform could enable wideband optical-to-optical and microwave-to-optical frequency conversion, which would be significant advances in quantum information science. The team is working on geometries that could lead to more sensitive light detectors and efficient frequency conversion devices. The platform opens up new possibilities for fabricating sensitive light detectors and converting wavelengths for use in quantum information science.
Keywords: optomechanical, frequency conversion, nanoscale, quantum information science
