AVS 63rd International Symposium & Exhibition
    MEMS and NEMS Wednesday Sessions
       Session MN+NS-WeA

Paper MN+NS-WeA4
Optomechanical Limit Cycle Oscillations in Metallic Nanowires

Wednesday, November 9, 2016, 3:20 pm, Room 102B

Session: Optomechanics, Photonics, and Quantum Nanosystems
Presenter: Roberto De Alba, Cornell University
Authors: R. De Alba, Cornell University
T.S. Abhilash, Cornell University
R.H. Rand, Cornell University
J.M. Parpia, Cornell University
Correspondent: Click to Email
Guitar strings are possibly the most common example of mechanical systems in which the frequency is temperature dependent. MEMS devices are similarly subject to thermal forces, and can be parametrically controlled by them under the correct conditions. Silicon domes and suspended graphene membranes are two systems that have been shown to self-oscillate when illuminated with intense laser light -- both resulting from optical absorption and associated temperature fluctuations. Here we study these optomechanical effects in metallized silicon-nitride nanowires with 50 nanometer square cross-sections and 40 micrometer length. We observe stable limit-cycle behavior with an amplitude of roughly one-eighth of the impinging laser wavelength, and characterize entrainment of this motion with inertial forcing. Lastly, we attempt to overcome viscous air damping in these nanowires using these optical interactions. In future MEMS designs, self-driven motion using on-chip optical sources could be a viable alternative to external drive electronics or active feedback circuits.