Radiation pressure on a graphene layer inserted inside an optical microcavity

Abstract

Controlling of graphene layer by optical force is an emerging topic in recent electronic and bio-inspired technologies. In this work, we theoretically investigated the radiation pressure (RP) force exerting on a graphene layer inserted inside an optical microcavity using the Maxwell’s stress tensor. In the resonant cavity where the cavity length matches the optical half-wavelength (λ/2) the stored field could be greatly enhanced and a strong RP force is observed. This RP force could be effectively tuned by changing the optical wavelength, the thickness of the cavity mirrors, and the position of the graphene in the cavity. Moreover, the graphene also alters field distribution inside the OMC and the RP on the cavity mirrors. The optical rigidity results from the change of RP with the graphene displacement has been shown to strongly dependent on the system parameters and reaches a value of ∼30 pN/λ. These results could open a way to control the spatial and temporal behavior of a graphene layer inserted inside the cavity toward the graphene optomechanics.