Cryogenic properties of optomechanical silica microcavities

TL;DR

This paper investigates the optical and mechanical behavior of high-Q silica microtoroidal resonators at cryogenic temperatures, revealing thermal effects, defect influences, and implications for optomechanical dissipation.

Contribution

It provides new insights into cryogenic optomechanical properties and the impact of structural defects on silica microcavities, with theoretical and experimental analysis.

Findings

Observation of thermally induced optical multistability

Quantitative characterization of static heating effects

Influence of defect states on mechanical dissipation

Abstract

We present the optical and mechanical properties of high-Q fused silica microtoroidal resonators at cryogenic temperatures (down to 1.6 K). A thermally induced optical multistability is observed and theoretically described; it serves to characterize quantitatively the static heating induced by light absorption. Moreover the influence of structural defect states in glass on the toroid mechanical properties is observed and the resulting implications of cavity optomechanical systems on the study of mechanical dissipation discussed.