Fenton EF, Khan A, Solano P, Orozco LA, Fatemi FK. Spin-optomechanical coupling between light and a nanofiber torsional mode.
OPTICS LETTERS 2018;
43:1534-1537. [PMID:
29601023 DOI:
10.1364/ol.43.001534]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Light that carries linear or angular momentum can interact with a mechanical object, giving rise to optomechanical effects. In particular, a photon can transfer its intrinsic angular momentum to an object when the object either absorbs the photon or changes the photon polarization, as in an action/reaction force pair. Here, we demonstrate resonant driving of torsional mechanical modes of a single-mode tapered optical nanofiber using spin angular momentum. The nanofiber torsional mode spectrum is characterized by polarimetry, showing narrow natural resonances (Q≈2,000). By sending amplitude-modulated light through the nanofiber, we resonantly drive individual torsional modes as a function of the light polarization. By varying the input polarization to the fiber, we find the largest amplification of a mechanical oscillation (>35 dB) is observed when driving the system with light containing longitudinal spin on the nanofiber waist. These results present optical nanofibers as a platform suitable for quantum spin-optomechanics experiments.
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