6 GHz hyperfast rotation of an optically levitated nanoparticle in vacuum

TL;DR

This paper reports the first observation of a nanoparticle rotating at 6 GHz in vacuum, demonstrating ultra-high rotation speeds in optically levitated systems with potential applications in sensing and fundamental physics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel optical trapping method enabling record-high nanoparticle rotation frequencies up to 6 GHz without feedback cooling.

Findings

Achieved 4.3 GHz rotation without feedback cooling.

Achieved 6 GHz rotation with feedback cooling.

Trapped nanoparticles from atmospheric pressure to 10^{-3} Pa.

Abstract

We report an experimental observation of a record-breaking ultra-high rotation frequency about 6 GHz in an optically levitated nanoparticle system. We optically trap a nanoparticle in the gravity direction with a high numerical aperture (NA) objective lens, which shows significant advantages in compensating the influences of the scattering force and the photophoretic force on the trap, especially at intermediate pressure (about 100 Pa). This allows us to trap a nanoparticle from atmospheric to low pressure ($10^{-3}$ Pa) without using feedback cooling. We measure a highest rotation frequency about 4.3 GHz of the trapped nanoparticle without feedback cooling and a 6 GHz rotation with feedback cooling, which is the fastest mechanical rotation ever reported to date. Our work provides useful guides for efficiently observing hyperfast rotation in the optical levitation system, and may find various applications such as in ultrasensitive torque detection, probing vacuum friction, and testing unconventional decoherence theories.