Cavity Optomechanics with 2D Photonic Crystal Membrane Reflectors

Membranes made from silicon nitride have significantly higher mechanical Q-factors under tensile stress than those made of other dielectric materials. This makes them ideal candidates for membrane reflectors that provide high finesse in Fabry-Perot cavities or membrane-in-the-middle optomechanical systems. Building on our previous work with one-dimensional gratings on suspended membranes, we patterned two-dimensional photonic crystal gratings on monolithic, suspended membranes made from silicon nitride. These high-Q membranes exhibited high reflectivity, upwards of 99%, over several nanometers in the telecom band. To probe their optical response in a cavity environment, we used these membrane reflectors as the moving mirror in a Fabry-Perot cavity. We were able to realize cavities with a finesse of over 4,500.