High-Q double-disk microcavities for cavity optomechanics

We design a double-disk microcavity consisting of a pair of silica microdisks separated by a nanoscale gap region on a silicon chip for cavity optomechanics. We show that this type of photonic structure can provide a per-photon gradient force with a magnitude much larger than for scattering-force-based structures. Moreover, this device provides for nearly independent optimization of optical and mechanical properties. We present the processing details of fabricated devices.