Chip-scale cavity optomechanics in lithium niobate

TL;DR

This paper presents a chip-scale lithium niobate cavity optomechanical system with high optical quality, strong coupling, and room-temperature operation, enabling efficient mechanical oscillations and potential applications in sensing and quantum technologies.

Contribution

The development of a high-Q, chip-scale lithium niobate optomechanical device with record frequency-quality product and demonstrated regenerative oscillation at room temperature.

Findings

Achieved optical quality factors suitable for practical applications.

Demonstrated coherent optomechanical oscillation at 375.8 MHz.

Operated at low threshold power of 174 μW in air.

Abstract

We develop a chip-scale cavity optomechanical system in single-crystal lithium niobate that exhibits high optical quality factors and a large frequency-quality product as high as $3.6\times 10^{12}$ Hz at room temperature and atmosphere. The excellent optical and mechanical properties together with the strong optomechanical coupling allow us to efficiently excite the coherent regenerative optomechanical oscillation operating at 375.8 MHz with a threshold power of 174 ${\rm \mu W}$ in the air. The demonstrated lithium niobate optomechanical device enables great potential for achieving electro-optic-mechanical hybrid systems for broad applications in sensing, metrology, and quantum physics.