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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Intermodulation of optical frequency combs in a multimode optomechanical system

Ryan C. Ng1,*, Paul Nizet1,*, Daniel Navarro-Urrios2, Guillermo Arregui3, Marcus Albrechtsen3, Pedro D. García1, Søren Stobbe3,4, Clivia M. Sotomayor-Torres1,5, and Guilhem Madiot1,†

  • 1Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
  • 2MIND-IN2UB, Departament d'Electrónica, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, Barcelona 08028, Spain
  • 3DTU Electro, Department of Electrical and Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, ørsteds Plads 343, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
  • 4NanoPhoton—Center for Nanophotonics, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads 345A, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
  • 5ICREA—Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, 08010 Barcelona, Spain

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Corresponding author
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Phys. Rev. Research 5, L032028 – Published 25 August, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.L032028

Abstract

Phonons offer the possibility to connect the microwave and optical domains while being efficiently transduced with electronic and optical signals. Here, we present a multimodal optomechanical platform, consisting of a mechanical-optical-mechanical resonator configuration. The mechanical modes, with frequencies at 265 MHz and 6.8 GHz, can be simultaneously excited into a phonon lasing regime as supported by a stability analysis of the system. Both the megahertz and gigahertz modes enter a self-sustained oscillation regime, leading to the intermodulation of two frequency combs in the optical field. We characterize this platform experimentally, demonstrating previously unexplored dynamical regimes. These results suggest the possibility to control multiple mechanical degrees of freedom via a single optical mode, with implications in gigahertz phononic devices, signal processing, and optical comb sensing applications.

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Phys. Rev. Research 5, L032028– Published 25 August, 2023
  • Received 3 March 2023
  • Revised 16 May 2023
  • Accepted 2 August 2023
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