Optical self-cooling of a membrane oscillator in a cavity optomechanical experiment at room temperature
Year: 2023
Authors: Vezio P., Bonaldi M., Borrielli A., Marino F., Morana B., Sarro P.M., Serra E., Marin F.
Autors Affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, via Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.
Nanoscience-Trento-FBK Division, Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, I-38123 Povo, Trento, Italy.
Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Application, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, I-38123 Povo, Trento, Italy.
CNR-INO, largo Enrico Fermi 6, I-50125 Firenze, Italy.
INFN, Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.
Department of Microelectronics and Computer Engineering/ECTM/DIMES, Delft University of Technology, Feldmanweg 17, NL-2628 CT Delft, The Netherlands.
European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, via Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy.
Abstract: Thermal noise is a major obstacle to observing quantum behavior in macroscopic systems. To mitigate its effect, quantum optomechanical experiments are typically performed in a cryogenic environment. However, this condition represents a considerable complication in the transition from fundamental research to quantum technology applications. It is therefore interesting to explore the possibility of achieving the quantum regime in room-temperature experiments. In this work we test the limits of sideband-cooling vibration modes of a SiN membrane in a cavity optomechanical experiment. We obtain an effective temperature of a few millikelvins, corresponding to a phononic occupation number of around 100. We show that further cooling is prevented by the excess classical noise of our laser source, and we outline the road toward the achievement of ground state cooling.
Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW A – ATOMIC, MOLECULAR, AND OPTICAL PHYSICS
Volume: 108 Pages from: 063508-1 to: 063508-10
KeyWords: Quantum optomechanics, nanometric membranes.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.108.063508