Ultralow dissipation optomechanical resonators on a chip

Over recent years it has become experimentally possible to study the coupling of optical and mechanical modes by means of cavity-enhanced radiation pressure[1] which might enable ground state-cooling of macroscopic mechanical oscillators. For achieving this major goal in the field of cavity-optomechanics and for applications such as low-loss, narrowband ‘photonic clocks’ a combination of high optical finesse and high mechanical quality factors at mechanical oscillation frequencies exceeding the optical cavity's linewidth[1] is desirable. It has, however, so far not been possible to combine mechanical Q-factors comparable to those achieved in the field of nano- and microelectromechanical systems (e.g. [2]) with state-of-the-art values of optical finesse[3]. Here we show independent control over both optical and mechanical degrees of freedom in the same microscale optomechanical resonator[4].