Radiation pressure cooling of a micromechanical oscillator using dynamical backaction

Abstract

Cooling of a 58 MHz micromechanical resonator from room temperature to 11 K is demonstrated using cavity enhanced radiation pressure. Detuned pumping of an optical resonance allows enhancement of the blueshifted motional sideband (caused by the oscillator's Brownian motion) with respect to the redshifted sideband leading to cooling of the mechanical oscillator mode. The reported cooling mechanism is a manifestation of the effect of radiation pressure induced dynamical backaction. These results constitute an important step towards achieving ground state cooling of a mechanical oscillator. © 2006 The American Physical Society.