1. Nanoparticle detection in an open-access silicon microcavity
- Author
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Kuhn, Stefan, Wachter, Georg, Wieser, Franz-Ferdinand, Millen, James, Schneider, Michael, Schalko, Johannes, Schmid, Ulrich, Trupke, Michael, and Arndt, Markus
- Subjects
Quantum Physics ,Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics ,Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) ,Physics::Accelerator Physics ,Physics::Optics ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Quantum Physics (quant-ph) ,Physics - Optics ,Optics (physics.optics) - Abstract
We report on the detection of free nanoparticles in a micromachined, open-access Fabry-P\'erot microcavity. With a mirror separation of $130\,\mu$m, a radius of curvature of $1.3\,$mm, and a beam waist of $12\,\mu$m, the mode volume of our symmetric infrared cavity is smaller than $15\,$pL. The small beam waist, together with a finesse exceeding 34,000, enables the detection of nano-scale dielectric particles in high vacuum. This device allows monitoring of the motion of individual $150\,$nm radius silica nanospheres in real time. We observe strong coupling between the particles and the cavity field, a precondition for optomechanical control. We discuss the prospects for optical cooling and detection of dielectric particles smaller than $10\,$nm in radius and $1\times10^7\,$amu in mass., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures
- Published
- 2017
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