Department of Precision and Microsystems Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628CD, Delft, The Netherlands.
Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Department of Quantum Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628CJ, Delft, The Netherlands.
Nat Commun. 2023 Mar 16;14(1):1458. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36953-8.
Mechanical frequency combs are poised to bring the applications and utility of optical frequency combs into the mechanical domain. So far, their main challenge has been strict requirements on drive frequencies and power, which complicate operation. We demonstrate a straightforward mechanism to create a frequency comb consisting of mechanical overtones (integer multiples) of a single eigenfrequency, by monolithically integrating a suspended dielectric membrane with a counter-propagating optical trap. The periodic optical field modulates the dielectrophoretic force on the membrane at the overtones of a membrane's motion. These overtones share a fixed frequency and phase relation, and constitute a mechanical frequency comb. The periodic optical field also creates an optothermal parametric drive that requires no additional power or external frequency reference. This combination of effects results in an easy-to-use mechanical frequency comb platform that requires no precise alignment, no additional feedback or control electronics, and only uses a single, mW continuous wave laser beam. This highlights the overtone frequency comb as the straightforward future for applications in sensing, metrology and quantum acoustics.
机械频率梳有望将光学频率梳的应用和实用性引入机械领域。到目前为止，它们的主要挑战是对驱动频率和功率的严格要求，这使得操作变得复杂。我们展示了一种通过将悬浮介电膜与反向传播的光阱集成来创建由单个本征频率的机械泛音（整数倍）组成的梳状结构的简单机制。周期性光场以膜运动的泛音调制介电泳力。这些泛音具有固定的频率和相位关系，构成了机械频率梳。周期性光场还创建了不需要额外功率或外部频率参考的光热电参量驱动。这种效应的组合导致了一种易于使用的机械频率梳平台，它不需要精确对准，不需要额外的反馈或控制电子设备，并且只使用单个毫瓦连续波激光束。这突显了泛音梳作为在传感、计量和量子声学中应用的直接未来。
