Abstract
Optomechanical systems, in which the vibrations of a mechanical resonator are coupled to an electromagnetic radiation, have permitted the investigation of a wealth of novel physical effects. To fully exploit these phenomena in realistic circuits and to achieve different functionalities on a single chip, the integration of optomechanical resonators is mandatory. Here, we propose a novel approach to heterogeneously integrate arrays of two-dimensional photonic crystal defect cavities on top of silicon-on-insulator waveguides. The optomechanical response of these devices is investigated and evidences an optomechanical coupling involving both dispersive and dissipative mechanisms. By controlling the optical coupling between the waveguide and the photonic crystal, we were able to vary and understand the relative strength of these couplings. This scalable platform allows for an unprecedented control on the optomechanical coupling mechanisms, with a potential benefit in cooling experiments, and for the development of multi-element optomechanical circuits in the framework of optomechanically-driven signal-processing applications.
Highlights
Cavity optomechanics explores the coupling between the degrees of freedom of a mechanical oscillator and those of an optical or a microwave mode, allowing for optical sensing and control of the mechanical vibrations and vice-versa[1,2,3]
The investigated sample consists of two-dimensional photonic crystal (PhC) defect cavities etched into a thin InP membrane, heterogeneously integrated onto a SOI waveguide substrate
We have demonstrated InP optomechanical resonators, consisting of a L3 PhC nanocavity etched in a thin InP membrane, heterogeneously integrated onto a SOI waveguide substrate, exhibiting tailored dispersive and dissipative optomechanical coupling
Summary
Cavity optomechanics explores the coupling between the degrees of freedom of a mechanical oscillator and those of an optical or a microwave mode, allowing for optical sensing and control of the mechanical vibrations and vice-versa[1,2,3]. Beyond opening new avenues in experimental quantum mechanics or in quantum information processing[22,23,24,25,26,27], multimode optomechanics holds promise for enhanced performance in metrology[28,29,30,31] or for new on-chip functionalities for signal processing, such as information storage[32,33], and wavelength conversion[34,35] The implementation of such multichannel and multimode circuits requires an efficient light coupling at the nanoscale and the combination on a single chip of interacting optomechanical elements with a high design flexibility. A complete three-dimensional (3D) integration is achieved by relying on a combined bottom-up and top-down approach, as opposed to most schemes, solely based on a top-down processing This hybrid 3D integration is demonstrated by vertically stacking an array of standalone InP-based optomechanical resonators on top of low-loss silicon-on-insulator (SOI) optical waveguides [see Fig. 1(a) for a schematic illustration of a single device]. The integrated nature of the implemented optomechanical platform paves the way to highly-flexible, tunable 3D optomechanical circuits with arbitrary configurations enabling various and more complex on-chip architectures
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