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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
Published on: November 30, 2012
Scaling of optical forces in dielectric waveguides: rigorous connection between radiation pressure and dispersion
Peter T Rakich1, Zheng Wang, Paul Davids
1Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1082, USA. rakich@alum.mit.edu
Abstract:
We show that eigenmodes of dielectric optical waveguides exert surface dilation forces on waveguide boundaries owing to radiation pressure, and we develop an exact scaling law relating modal dispersion of an arbitrary dielectric waveguide to the magnitude of optical forces generated by radiation pressure. This result points to highly dispersive waveguides as an optimal choice for the generation of large optical forces in nano-optomechanical systems. Exact agreement with ab initio calculations is demonstrated.
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