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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Fabrication and Testing of Microfluidic Optomechanical Oscillators
Published on: May 29, 2014
Analysis of radiation-pressure induced mechanical oscillation of an optical microcavity
T J Kippenberg1, H Rokhsari, T Carmon
1Thomas J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Abstract:
The theoretical work of Braginsky predicted that radiation pressure can couple the mechanical, mirror eigenmodes of a Fabry-Pérot resonator to its optical modes, leading to a parametric oscillation instability. This regime is characterized by regenerative mechanical oscillation of the mechanical mirror eigenmodes. We have recently observed the excitation of mechanical modes in an ultrahigh Q optical microcavity. Here, we present a detailed experimental analysis of this effect and demonstrate that radiation pressure is the excitation mechanism of the observed mechanical oscillations.
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