The objective of this program is to control optical gradient forces in lightwave circuits through waveguide dispersion, to enhance optical gradient forces by using plasmonic effects, and to create novel resonant optomechanical devices. Optical gradient forces can be generated between integrated optical components by light and be used to control both optical and mechanical behavior of these components. The resulting integrated optomechanical devices provide a fascinating system to study the coupling between optics and mechanics.
Intellectual merit: The intellectual merit is to investigate new methods, such as waveguide dispersion and plasmonic effects, to manipulate and enhance optical gradient forces and explore novel applications. Non-resonant optomechanical systems consisting of coupled waveguides with very different dispersion properties will be used to control optical gradient forces through wavelength and polarization. Hybrid plasmonic waveguides are proposed to enhance optical forces through stronger evanescent fields and larger field gradients.
Broader impacts: The broader impacts are to create novel devices for information processing and fundamental physics. The outcome of the proposed research will have significant impacts across many disciplines, such as light-controlled biomechanical manipulation and detection, photonic information processing, and strong light-matter interactions. The proposed education program will augment students? classroom instruction through an education plan that will integrate research activities and an outreach plan that will disseminate this research to local K-12 students. The education and outreach activities include establishing an interdisciplinary research program, developing undergraduate research experiences, and promoting participation of under-represented students.
Optical gradient forces can be generated between integrated optical components by light and be used to control both optical and mechanical behavior of these components. The resulting integrated optomechanical devices provide a fascinating system to study the coupling between optics and mechanics and offer a novel route to realize all-optical information processing. In this project, we focused on three research thrusts in this new field: 1) We control optical forces by using the wavelength and polarization of input light instead of its power so that we could minimize the impact of optical absorption at different power levels; 2) We enhance optical forces by using plasmonic effects to create stronger evanescent fields and larger field gradients; 3) We design, fabricate, and characterize novel resonant optomechanical devices. During the first year of this project, our research activities mainly focus on the following topics: 1) design dispersion-engineered coupled optical waveguides to control the optical gradient forces between these two waveguides and hybrid plasmonic waveguides to enhance optical forces; 2) work on an experimental set-up to characterize optomechanical devices; 3) design, fabrication, and characterize a silicon nitride optomechanical disk resonator. During the second year of this project, our research activities mainly focus on the following topics: 1) theoretical analysis of coupled optomechanical resonators; 2) investigate the frequency mixing inside a single optomechanical disk resonator. During the third year of this project, our research activities mainly focus on an ultrasmall silicon disk optomechanical oscillator for high frequency, low threshold RF applications.
