Researcher's Profile

Light carries momentum, enabling it to exert forces on objects through momentum exchange. When light is confined within a cavity, photons bounce back and forth, generating pressure on the mirrors. Cavity optomechanics is the study of the interaction between optical cavities and mechanical oscillators through the light-pressure effects, known as optomechanical effects. Our research employs semiconductor-compatible nano-optomechanical systems to explore unknown phenomena across various areas of physics, including nanophotonics, cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED), topological photonics, non-Hermitian physics, and more.

・Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS) Optomechanics:
We design and fabricate sophisticated NEMS structures to explore various optomechanical phenomena. For example, we precisely measured bidirectional (attractive and repulsive) optical forces in double-coupled photonic crystal (PhC) cavities [F. Tian et al., Opt. Express 21, 18398-18407 (2013)], and we controlled the bistable states of the cavities with NEMS [F. Tian et al., Opt. Lett. 38, 3394-3397 (2013)].

・Hybrid Quantum Optomechanical Systems:
We are also interested in hybrid systems integrating quantum and optomechanical components. For instance, the hybridization of solid-state quantum emitters with a tunable optomechanical cavity can provide a dynamical aspect to the spontaneous emission process [F. Tian et al., Optica 9, 309-316 (2022); Research Highlight: Science 376, 150 (2022)].

・Topological/Non-Hermitian Optomechanical Systems:
Optomechanical effects can also be harnessed to control the frequency and energy gain/loss of mechanical resonators. Therefore, we are dedicated to studying non-Hermitian physics using optomechanical platforms [F. Tian et al., CLEO 2022, JTh3A.64]. Moreover, we are exploring optomechanical effects in topological photonics, where the topological phase transition is realized through optomechanical nonlinearity [F. Tian and S. Iwamoto, JSAP Spring Meeting 2023, 16a-E502-5].

fig.1：A NEMS optomechanical system. The NEMS structure is used to measure the optical forces in the nanocavity.

fig.2：A Hybrid optomechanical cQED system, in which the spontaneous emission is dynamically modulated.

fig.3：A non-Hermitian optomechanical system.