Ultra low quantum decoherence nano-optomechanical systems

Thermal motion of a room-temperature mechanical resonator typically dominates the quantum backaction of its position measurement. This is a longstanding barrier for exploring cavity optomechanics at room temperature. In order to enter the quantum regime of the optomechanical interaction, we need to be in the "backaction-dominated" regime, where we can study the limits of quantum measurement and how to circumvent them. To create a system which can enter the quantum regime, the optomechanical transducer has to satisfy certain criteria. A quantum-enabled optomechanical system consists of an optical cavity and a mechanical resonator with ultra low quantum decoherence, which are strongly coupled to each other via the optomechanical interaction.

High stress silicon nitride has enabled nanomechanical resonators with exceptionally low dissipation at room temperature via several soft-clamping techniques. Achieving high optomechanical coupling to these coherent nanobeams results in high optomechanical cooperativities, thus alleviating the thermal motion barrier for room temperature quantum optomechanics. Monolithic integration of high-Q nanobeam resonators with optical cavities has been limited to doubly-clamped nanobeams due to the complexity of the device fabrication and long device sizes required for conventional soft-clamping using phononic crystals. In addition, the previous demonstrations of such systems showed limited optomechanical couplings thus a limited single photon cooperativity.

I present the design, fabrication and characterization of three different classes of nanomechanical resonators clamp-tapered, fractal-like, and polygon resonators, which support perimeter modes, with Q factors exceeding 3 billion at room temperature and their optical readout using an integrated nearfield nano-optomechanical transducer using high stress silicon nitride. Our transducer features a one-dimensional Fabry-Perot optical cavity integrated with a high-Q nanomechanical resonator. The Fabry-Perot optical cavity is formed by patterning two photonic crystal reflectors on a silicon nitride waveguide designed for high-Q optical modes. Our approach allows individual optimization of optical and mechanical resonators, while maintaining a high optomechanical coupling rate due to large optomechanical mode overlap. Our best performing devices show on-chip optomechanical transducers with single photon cooperativities as high as 123 with mechanical quality factor of 120 million at room temperature. The developed system is of great interest to the optomechanics and sensing community. In quantum optomechanics, it will serve as a platform for quantum feedback control of the nanomechanical resonators to achieve motional ground state of a macroscopic resonator and generation of squeezed light at room temperature. Owing to their record value mechanical quality factors, the room temperature force sensitivity of our highest Q perimeter modes is on par with atomic force microscopy