Graphene-assisted electro-optomechanical integration on a silicon-on-insulator platform

Micro- and nano-optomechanics has attracted broad interest for applications of mechanical sensing and coherent signal processing. For nonpiezoelectric materials such as silicon or silicon nitride, electrocapacitive effects with metals patterned on mechanical structures are usually adopted to actuate the mechanical motion of the micro- or nanomechanical devices. However, the metals have deleterious effects on the mechanical structures because they add an additional weight and also introduce considerable mechanical losses. To solve these problems, we have proposed and experimentally demonstrated a new scheme of electro-optomechanical integration on a silicon-on-insulator platform by using single-layer graphene as a highly conductive coating for electromechanical actuation. Mechanical modes of different groups were electrically actuated and optically detected in a micromechanical resonator, with the mechanical Q > 1000 measured in air. Compatible with CMOS technology, our scheme is suitable for large-scale electro-optomechanical integration and will have wide applications in high-speed sensing, communication, and signal processing.