Nonlinear Nano-Optomechanics

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The objective of this project is to explore the interactions between light and mechanical motions of micro/nano-photonic devices in the highly nonlinear regime that exhibits profound nonlinear physics which has not yet been systematically studied. By engineering micro/nano-photonic structures to produce intriguing highly nonlinear coupling between light and mechanical motions of the devices, the PI's group aims to open up a transformative research avenue for processing information on chip, in both classical and quantum regimes and in both optical and mechanical domains, that would offer diverse novel optomechanical functionalities beyond the reach of conventional approaches. The proposed research is expected to significantly advance the capability and capacity of nano-optomechanics, photonic information processing, and quantum measurement. Fundamental research findings and device innovations will be disseminated to the broader research communities through published papers; the research outcomes will be also incorporated into the courses offered by the PI at the University of Rochester. The proposed research would result in training graduate students and undergraduate students in the diverse interdisciplinary areas of nanophotonics, optomechanics, and quantum optics. Through the outreach programs, this project will also help promote the interests and participations of K-12 students, and broaden the participations from underrepresented groups. The proposed research aims to explore cavity nano-optomechanics in the highly nonlinear regime that is inaccessible to any current approach. The gigantic nonlinear optomechanical coupling in the developed nano-optomechanical structures produces very profound nonlinear optomechanical dynamics that offers diverse novel functionalities in both classical and quantum regimes. With strong expertise in both physics and engineering of nanophotonic and nano-optomechnaical devices, the PI's group will carry out explorative research to study the intriguing physics of nonlinear optomechanics and to apply it for probing and engineering mechanical motion and noise characteristics of nano-optomechnaical systems in the regime inaccessible to conventional approaches, and for processing photonic signals with performance significantly beyond current state-of-the-art. The preliminary results have shown great promise to achieve these goals.