Floquet Control of Optomechanical Bistability in Multimode Systems

Cavity optomechanical systems make possible the fine manipulation of mechanical degrees of freedom with light, adding functionality and having broad appeal in photonic technologies. We show that distinct mechanical modes can be exploited with a temporally modulated Floquet drive to steer between distinct steady states induced by changes of cavity radiation pressure. We investigate the additional influence of the thermo-optic nonlinearity on these dynamics and find that it can suppress or amplify the control mechanism in contrast to its often performance-limiting character. Our results provide new techniques for the characterization of thermal properties of optomechanical systems and their control, sensing and computational applications.

Automated summary

Cavity optomechanical systems enable the manipulation of mechanical degrees of freedom with light. In this study, we demonstrate that temporally modulated driving can steer mechanical modes and induce transitions between different steady states. Our results also reveal the additional influence of thermo-optic nonlinearity on system dynamics.