High frequency optomechanical disk resonators in III-V ternary semiconductors

TL;DR

This paper explores high-frequency optomechanical disk resonators made from TPA-free III-V semiconductors, demonstrating high Q factors and self-oscillation capabilities, advancing nanophotonics and quantum control applications.

Contribution

It introduces the fabrication and characterization of novel InGaP and AlGaAs optomechanical disks with high frequencies and Q factors, and compares their performance to GaAs systems.

Findings

High optical and mechanical Q factors achieved in ambient conditions

Demonstration of laser-sustained optomechanical self-oscillation

Comparison showing advantages over GaAs-based devices

Abstract

Optomechanical systems based on nanophotonics are advancing the field of precision motion measurement, quantum control and nanomechanical sensing. In this context III-V semiconductors offer original assets like the heteroepitaxial growth of optimized metamaterials for photon/phonon interactions. GaAs has already demonstrated high performances in optomechanics but suffers from two photon absorption (TPA) at the telecom wavelength, which can limit the cooperativity. Here, we investigate TPA-free III-V semiconductor materials for optomechanics applications: GaAs lattice-matched In0:5Ga0:5P and Al0:4Ga0:6As. We report on the fabrication and optical characterization of high frequency (500-700 MHz) optomechanical disks made out of these two materials, demonstrating high optical and mechanical Q in ambient conditions. Finally we achieve operating these new devices as laser-sustained optomechanical self-oscillators, and draw a first comparative study with existing GaAs systems.