Observation of photon-phonon correlations via dissipative filtering

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel cavity-in-a-membrane optomechanical system that uses dissipative filtering to observe photon-phonon correlations, enabling studies of low-frequency light scattering where traditional filtering fails.

Contribution

Introduction of a cavity-in-a-membrane architecture combined with dissipative filtering to detect photon-phonon correlations in low-frequency mechanical modes.

Findings

Successful detection of photon-phonon correlations in a low-frequency membrane mode.

Dissipative filtering effectively eliminates probe light in situ.

Method applicable to low-frequency light scattering studies.

Abstract

Cavity-optomechanics enables photon-phonon interaction and correlations by harnessing the radiation-pressure force. Here, we realize a ``cavity-in-a-membrane'' optomechanical architecture which allows detection of the motion of lithographically-defined, ultrathin membranes via an integrated optical cavity. Using a dissipative filtering method, we are able to eliminate the probe light in situ and observe photon-phonon correlations associated with the low-frequency membrane mechanical mode. The developed method is generally applicable for study of low-frequency light scattering processes where conventional frequency-selective filtering is unfeasible.