Anderson Photon-Phonon Colocalization in Certain Random Superlattices
Arregui Bravo, Guillermo (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Lanzillotti-Kimura, Daniel (Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies)
Sotomayor Torres, Clivia M. (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
García Fernández, Pedro David (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)

Date:	2019
Abstract:	Fundamental observations in physics ranging from gravitational wave detection to laser cooling of a nanomechanical oscillator into its quantum ground state rely on the interaction between the optical and the mechanical degrees of freedom. A key parameter to engineer this interaction is the spatial overlap between the two fields, optimized in carefully designed resonators on a case-by-case basis. Disorder is an alternative strategy to confine light and sound at the nanoscale. However, it lacks an a priori mechanism guaranteeing a high degree of colocalization due to the inherently complex nature of the underlying interference processes. Here, we propose a way to address this challenge by using GaAs/AlAs vertical distributed Bragg reflectors with embedded geometrical disorder. Because of a remarkable coincidence in the physical parameters governing light and motion propagation in these two materials, the equations for both longitudinal acoustic waves and normal-incidence light become practically equivalent for excitations of the same wavelength. This guarantees spatial overlap between the electromagnetic and displacement fields of specific photon-phonon pairs, leading to strong light-matter interaction. In particular, a statistical enhancement in the vacuum optomechanical coupling rate, go, is found, making this system a promising candidate to explore Anderson localization of high frequency (∼20 GHz) phonons enabled by cavity optomechanics. The colocalization effect shown here unlocks the access to unexplored localization phenomena and the engineering of light-matter interactions mediated by Anderson-localized states.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad SEV-2013-0295 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad FIS2015-70862-P European Commission 713450 European Commission 715939 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad RyC-2015-18124
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Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Anderson localization ; Cavity optomechanics ; Gravitational-wave detection ; Light-matter interactions ; Localization phenomena ; Longitudinal acoustic waves ; Nanomechanical oscillators ; Quantum ground state
Published in:	Physical review letters, Vol. 122, Issue 4 (February 2019) , art. 43903, ISSN 1079-7114

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.043903
PMID: 30768324

6 p, 743.4 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
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Articles > Published articles