Cavity optomechanics: Manipulating photons and phonons towards the single-photon strong coupling**Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2014CB921401), the Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program, and the Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology (TNList) Cross-discipline Foundation.

Abstract

Cavity optomechanical systems provide powerful platforms to manipulate photons and phonons, open potential applications for modern optical communications and precise measurements. With the refrigeration and ground-state cooling technologies, studies of cavity optomechanics are making significant progress towards the quantum regime including nonclassical state preparation, quantum state tomography, quantum information processing, and future quantum internet. With further research, it is found that abundant physical phenomena and important applications in both classical and quantum regimes appeal as they have a strong optomechanical nonlinearity, which essentially depends on the single-photon optomechanical coupling strength. Thus, engineering the optomechanical interactions and improving the single-photon optomechanical coupling strength become very important subjects. In this article, we first review several mechanisms, theoretically proposed for enhancing optomechanical coupling. Then, we review the experimental progresses on enhancing optomechanical coupling by optimizing its structure and fabrication process. Finally, we review how to use novel structures and materials to enhance the optomechanical coupling strength. The manipulations of the photons and phonons at the level of strong optomechanical coupling are also summarized.