Cavity optomechanics with a suspended resonant mirror

Abstract

We investigate optomechanical effects in cavities consisting of a plane-plane arrangement of a broadband reflectivity mirror and an ultrathin, suspended resonant mirror possessing a high-Q internal optical resonance. We first investigate dispersive optomechanics in such cavities on the basis of a generic analytical model as well as finite element method simulations of realistic structures. We then report on experimental optical spring measurements using a suspended silicon nitride membrane patterned with a subwavelength grating. While the observed optical spring variations qualitatively match those expected from the dispersive cavity optomechanics model, their magnitude is more than two orders of magnitude larger than predicted. We surmize that this strong optomechanical interaction is due to photothermal effects and put forward a phenomenological model that plausibly supports the observations.