A nanomachined tunable oscillator controlled by electrostatic and optical force

Abstract

We develop a miniaturized electrostatically tunable optomechanical oscillator, whose frequencies can be electrostatically tuned by as much as 10%. By taking advantage of the optical and the electrical spring, the oscillator achieves a high tuning sensitivity without resorting to mechanical tension. Particularly, the high-Q optical cavity greatly enhances the system sensitivity, making it extremely sensitive to the motional signal, which is often overwhelmed by background noise.