Floquet control of optomechanical bistability in multimode systems

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how Floquet control via temporally modulated laser drives can manipulate bistable states in multimode optomechanical systems, with implications for sensing and computation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Floquet control method for optomechanical bistability, considering thermo-optic effects, advancing manipulation techniques in multimode systems.

Findings

Thermo-optic nonlinearity can both inhibit and enhance Floquet dynamics.

Floquet control enables switching between bistable states.

The approach offers new tools for thermal characterization and system control.

Abstract

Cavity optomechanical systems enable fine manipulation of nanomechanical degrees of freedom with light, adding operational functionality and impacting their appeal in photonic technologies. We show that distinct mechanical modes can be exploited with a temporally modulated laser drive to steer between bistable steady states induced by changes of cavity radiation pressure. We investigate the influence of thermo-optic nonlinearity on these Floquet dynamics and find that it can inhibit or enhance the performance of the coupling mechanism in contrast to their often performance limiting character. Our results provide new techniques for the characterization of thermal properties and the control of optomechanical systems in sensing and computational applications