%0 Generic %1 kuhn2017optically %A Kuhn, Stefan %A Stickler, Benjamin A. %A Kosloff, Alon %A Patolsky, Fernando %A Hornberger, Klaus %A Arndt, Markus %A Millen, James %D 2017 %K levitation %T Optically driven ultra-stable nanomechanical rotor %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.07565 %X Nanoscale mechanical oscillators are sensitive to a wide range of forces, and are the subject of studies into fundamental quantum physics. They can be used for mass detection at the single proton level, position measurements to the quantum limit, and they have found application in genetics, proteomics, microbiology and studies of DNA. Their sensitivity is limited by dissipation to the environment, which reduces the mechanical quality factor $Q_m$. Here we realize a nanomechanical rotor with remarkably high $Q_m$, by optically levitating a silicon nanorod and periodically driving its rotation with circularly polarized light. We frequency-lock the nanorod's motion to the periodic drive, resulting in ultra-stable rotations, with a stability close to that of the drive. While operating at room temperature, and gas pressures of a few millibar, our system exhibits an effective $Q_m$ of $10^11$, and a $Q_m$-frequency product of $10^17$Hz, three orders of magnitude greater than measured in any other experiment. This frequency stability yields an unprecedentedly high room temperature torque sensitivity of $0.24$zNm and a relative pressure sensitivity of $0.3$%. In addition, the external drive allows us to tune the rotational frequency by almost $10^12$ linewidths, and the ability to make local phase sensitive measurements allows real-time readout, offering a new paradigm of flexibility in sensing applications.

@misc{kuhn2017optically, abstract = {Nanoscale mechanical oscillators are sensitive to a wide range of forces, and are the subject of studies into fundamental quantum physics. They can be used for mass detection at the single proton level, position measurements to the quantum limit, and they have found application in genetics, proteomics, microbiology and studies of DNA. Their sensitivity is limited by dissipation to the environment, which reduces the mechanical quality factor $Q_{\rm m}$. Here we realize a nanomechanical rotor with remarkably high $Q_{\rm m}$, by optically levitating a silicon nanorod and periodically driving its rotation with circularly polarized light. We frequency-lock the nanorod's motion to the periodic drive, resulting in ultra-stable rotations, with a stability close to that of the drive. While operating at room temperature, and gas pressures of a few millibar, our system exhibits an effective $Q_{\rm m}$ of $10^{11}$, and a $Q_{\rm m}$-frequency product of $10^{17}$Hz, three orders of magnitude greater than measured in any other experiment. This frequency stability yields an unprecedentedly high room temperature torque sensitivity of $0.24$zNm and a relative pressure sensitivity of $0.3$%. In addition, the external drive allows us to tune the rotational frequency by almost $10^{12}$ linewidths, and the ability to make local phase sensitive measurements allows real-time readout, offering a new paradigm of flexibility in sensing applications.}, added-at = {2017-05-09T14:32:50.000+0200}, author = {Kuhn, Stefan and Stickler, Benjamin A. and Kosloff, Alon and Patolsky, Fernando and Hornberger, Klaus and Arndt, Markus and Millen, James}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/21cd88761d223666750f99f45e0a60099/corentingut}, description = {Optically driven ultra-stable nanomechanical rotor}, interhash = {bdeb773631713f7418d9b3c9fda70422}, intrahash = {1cd88761d223666750f99f45e0a60099}, keywords = {levitation}, note = {cite arxiv:1702.07565Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures}, timestamp = {2017-06-14T10:43:15.000+0200}, title = {Optically driven ultra-stable nanomechanical rotor}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.07565}, year = 2017 }