High quality factor mg-scale silicon mechanical resonators for 3-mode optoacoustic parametric amplifiers

Abstract

Milligram-scale resonators have been shown to be suitable for the creation of 3-mode optoacoustic parametric amplifiers, based on a phenomena first predicted for advanced gravitational-wave detectors. To achieve practical optoacoustic parametric devices, high quality factor resonators are required. We present millimetre-scale silicon resonators designed to exhibit a torsional vibration mode with a frequency in the 105-106 Hz range, for observation of 3-mode optoacoustic interactions in a compact table-top system. Our design incorporates an isolation stage and minimizes the acoustic loss from optical coating. We observe a quality factor of 7.5 × 10 5 for a mode frequency of 401.5 kHz, at room temperature and pressure of 10-3 Pa. We confirmed the mode shape by mapping the amplitude response across the resonator and comparing to finite element modelling. This study contributes to the development of 3-mode optoacoustic parametric amplifiers for use in novel high-sensitivity signal transducers and quantum measurement experiments. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.