Enhanced optical generation and detection of acoustic nanowaves in microcavities

N. D. Lanzillotti-Kimura (1) , A. Fainstein (2, 3) , Bernard Perrin (1) , Bernard Jusserand (1) , L. Largeau (4) , O. Mauguin , A. Lemaître (4)

1 INSP - Institut des Nanosciences de Paris
2 Centro Atómico Bariloche [Argentine]
3 Instituto Balseiro [Bariloche]
4 LPN - Laboratoire de photonique et de nanostructures

The enhancement of the ultrafast coherent generation and detection of acoustic phonons in an optical microcavity is experimentally studied. We report pump-probe terahertz ultrasonic experiments in an optical microcavity as a function of laser energy and probe incidence angle. By tuning the laser wavelength to resonate with the microcavity mode at normal incidence and simultaneously varying the incidence angle of the probe beam we achieve a double optical enhancement. Under this condition both the coherent generation and detection of acoustic nanowaves are strongly enhanced. We demonstrate the use of optical microcavities as a promising tool to study acoustic phonons in reduced dimensions with increased sensitivity.

Domaines: Matière Condensée [cond-mat]

N. D. Lanzillotti-Kimura, A. Fainstein, Bernard Perrin, Bernard Jusserand, L. Largeau, et al.. Enhanced optical generation and detection of acoustic nanowaves in microcavities. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2011, 83 (20), ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.83.201103⟩. ⟨hal-01229214⟩