Strong nanomechanical Duffing nonlinearity and interactions induced through cavity optomechanics

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates tunable strong nonlinearity in nanomechanical resonators via cavity optomechanics, enabling control over nonlinear interactions and dynamics for advanced signal processing and simulation.

Contribution

It introduces a method to achieve and control strong mechanical nonlinearity and interactions in nanomechanical resonators using cavity optomechanics with optical laser drives.

Findings

Achieved tunable Duffing nonlinearity controlled by laser power and detuning.

Demonstrated effective nonlinear interactions between mechanical modes.

Showed potential for reconfigurable nonlinear dynamics in resonator networks.

Abstract

Nonlinearity is a key resource in both classical and quantum signal processing. Nonlinear nanomechanical elements have found applications ranging from sensing to computing, while networks of nonlinear resonators, as well as nonlinearly coupled networks of linear resonators, constitute promising platforms for simulating complex dynamics. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an approach to realizing strong mechanical nonlinearity in nanomechanical resonators, fully controlled through optical laser drives. The mechanism exploits the nonlinearity of the radiation-pressure interaction in a cavity optomechanical system, which gives rise to a nonlinear optical spring effect. The resulting Duffing nonlinearity is conveniently tunable in strength via pump laser power, while its sign is controlled by laser detuning. Moreover, we demonstrate that the nonlinear optical spring mediates effective interactions between mechanical modes coupled to a common cavity, inducing tunable nonlinear interactions between them that impact spectral response and dynamics. These results establish cavity optomechanics as a versatile and in-situ reconfigurable platform for engineering nonlinear dynamics in resonators and networks.