Vibrational Resonance Amplification in a Thermo-Optic Optomechanical Nanocavity

Vibrational resonance is a generic phenomenon found in many different bistable systems whereby a weak low-frequency signal is amplified by use of an additional nonresonant high-frequency modulation. The realization of weak signal enhancement in integrated nonlinear optical nanocavities is of great interest for nanophotonic applications where optical signals may be of low power. Here, we report experimental observation of vibrational resonance in a thermo-optically bistable photonic crystal optomechanical resonator with an amplification up to +16 dB. The characterization of the bistability can interestingly be done using a mechanical resonance of the membrane, which is submitted to a strong thermoelastic coupling with the cavity.