| Issue |
Ann. Phys. Fr.
Volume 32, Number 2-3, 2007
COLOQ'1010th conference on lasers and quantum optics
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 33 - 38 | |
| Section | Guest conferences | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/anphys:2008003 | |
| Published online | 23 May 2008 | |
Quantum optics with micromirrors
Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC, ENS, CNRS, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
Corresponding author: heidmann@spectro.jussieu.fr
Recent progress in high-finesse optical cavities and micro-mechanical resonators allows one to reach a new regime in which both mechanical and optical dynamics are governed by the radiation pressure exerted by light on mirrors. This optomechanical coupling leads to the existence of fundamental quantum limits in ultrasensitive interferometric measurements, and also to very efficient cooling mechanisms of micromirrors. We experimentally study these effects by monitoring in a very high-finesse cavity the displacements of a mirror coated on a micro-resonator. We have in particular observed a self-cooling of the mirror induced by the intracavity radiation pressure. Improvements of the experimental setup would open the way to the optical observation of the quantum ground state of a macroscopic resonator.
© EDP Sciences, 2008