ABSTRACT
Optomechanical coupling between a light field and the motion of a cavity mirror via radiation pressure plays an important role for the exploration of macroscopic quantum physics and for the detection of gravitational waves (GWs). It has been used to cool mechanical oscillators into their quantum ground states and has been considered to boost the sensitivity of GW detectors, e.g., via the optical spring effect. Here, we present the experimental characterization of generalized, that is, dispersive and dissipative, optomechanical coupling, with a macroscopic (1.5 mm)2-size silicon nitride membrane in a cavity-enhanced Michelson-type interferometer. We report for the first time strong optomechanical cooling based on dissipative coupling, even on cavity resonance, in excellent agreement with theory. Our result will allow for new experimental regimes in macroscopic quantum physics and GW detection.
ABSTRACT
We report on the observation of high-efficiency frequency doubling of 1550 nm continuous-wave laser light in a nonlinear cavity containing a periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate crystal (PPKTP). The fundamental field had a power of 1.10 W and was converted into 1.05 W at 775 nm, yielding a total external conversion efficiency of 95±1%. The latter value is based on the measured depletion of the fundamental field being consistent with the absolute values derived from numerical simulations. According to our model, the conversion efficiency achieved was limited by the nonperfect mode matching into the nonlinear cavity and by the nonperfect impedance matching for the maximum input power available. Our result shows that cavity-assisted frequency conversion based on PPKTP is well suited for low-decoherence frequency conversion of quantum states of light.
