Full rotational control of levitated silicon nanorods

Autor(en)

Stefan Kuhn, Alon Kosloff, Benjamin A. Stickler, Fernando Patolsky, Klaus Hornberger, Markus Arndt, James Millen

Abstrakt

Optically levitated nano-objects in vacuum are among the highest quality mechanical oscillators, and thus of great interest for force sensing, cavity quantum optomechanics, and nanothermodynamic studies. These precision applications require exquisite control. Here, we present full control over the rotational and translational dynamics of an optically levitated silicon nanorod. We trap its center-of-mass and align it along the linear polarization of the laser field. The rod can be set into rotation at a predefined frequency by exploiting the radiation pressure exerted by elliptically polarized light. The rotational motion of the rod dynamically modifies the optical potential, which allows tuning of the rotational frequency over hundreds of kilohertz. Through nanofabrication, we can tailor all of the trapping frequencies and the optical torque, achieving reproducible dynamics that are stable over months, and analytically predict the motion with great accuracy. This first demonstration of full ro-translational control of nanoparticles in vacuum opens up the fields of rotational optomechanics, rotational ground state cooling, and the study of rotational thermodynamics in the underdamped regime. Published by The Optical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Organisation(en)

Quantenoptik, Quantennanophysik und Quanteninformation

Externe Organisation(en)

Tel Aviv University, Universität Duisburg-Essen

Journal

Optica

Band

4

Seiten

356-360

Anzahl der Seiten

5

ISSN

2334-2536

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.4.000356

Publikationsdatum

03-2017

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

103025 Quantenmechanik, 103015 Kondensierte Materie, 103021 Optik

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/32f9478d-eb85-4765-b7a1-cef707990fe6