Optically tunable mechanics of microlevers

We show how the mechanical rigidity of a slightly detuned miniature Fabry-Perot cavity can be modified with light. We use a microcavity in which one of the mirrors is a soft compliant microlever optimized to detect bolometric forces. The static compliance can either be decreased to zero or increased considerably depending on the detuning of the light with respect to the cavity resonance. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.