Optomechanics is the study of the interaction between light and matter. Its study has significant societal implications, with recent advances such as the experimental observation of gravitational waves in LIGO, or in the cooling of atoms down to their motional grown state. More generally, optomechanics is able to utilize light to control mechanical motion, enabling applications such as extremely sensitive mass and force sensors. FOWLING primarily aimed to study nanoscale optomechanical crystal systems in higher dimensional systems beyond standard 1D nanobeams. The work focused on the study of the generation, manipulation, and detection of phonons within these optomechanical systems, which could also help pave the way towards realizing phononic circuits.
The relevance to society lies in the field of radio frequency-optical coupling, which could potentially enable low energy information processing. The beneficiary demonstrated important pathways, from design to measurement, of types of nano fabricated structures suitable for operation in the GHz (mechanical) and THz (optical) ranges. These structures could impact devices such as sensors or high frequency filters, or play a role in optical communications and contribute towards enriching fundamental knowledge towards using phonons for information and communication technologies, as phonons would need less power compared to electrons and photons.
The research work substantially enhanced the MS Curie Fellow research skills in preparation for a leading position in academia or industry. The outcomes were disseminated in high impact journals, with some still to be submitted (with a total number expected to reach 13 publications by the end of 2024). The beneficiary disseminated his work internationally in an invited talk and a contributed talk. Furthermore, a research stay in another group (European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy in Florence, Italy) provided him with experience in working with quantum optics and organic molecule light-emitters.
