A Stable Optical Trap from a Single Optical Field Utilizing Birefringence

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a stable optical trapping mechanism using birefringence in a cavity with a single optical field, significantly reducing low-frequency vibrations without external feedback.

Contribution

It introduces a novel stable double optical spring effect enabled by birefringence, allowing operation with a single optical field and no external feedback.

Findings

Resonance shifted to 21 kHz from 274 Hz

Vibration suppression exceeds 10^4 times

Stable trapping achieved without external feedback

Abstract

We report a stable double optical spring effect in an optical cavity pumped with a single optical field that arises as a result of birefringence. One end of the cavity is formed by a multilayer Al$_{0.92}$Ga$_{0.08}$As/GaAs stack supported by a microfabricated cantilever, with a natural mode frequency of $274$ Hz. The optical spring shifts the resonance to $21$ kHz, corresponding to a suppression of low frequency vibrations by a factor of more than $10^{4}$. The stable nature of the optical trap allows the cavity to be operated without any external feedback and with only a single optical field incident.