In a significant stride towards advanced thermal sensing technologies, a team of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Texas at Austin has developed an innovative optomechanical platform on thin-film lithium niobate. This breakthrough, published in the journal Nature Communications, holds promising implications for the energy sector, particularly in enhancing thermal management and infrared detection capabilities.
The research team, led by Professor Ruochen Lu and Professor Mengjie Yu, has engineered a compact optomechanical platform with a footprint of just 40 μm by 40 μm. This platform integrates suspended microring resonators featuring ultrathin central membranes. The design effectively reduces mechanical stiffness and effective mass while maintaining high optical and mechanical quality factors. Notably, the optical quality factor (Q_o) is 1,000,000, and the mechanical quality factor (Q_m) is 1,117, which increases to 51,000 after oscillation.
One of the key achievements of this research is the suppression of thermal dissipation into the silicon substrate, which enhances thermal sensitivity. The platform demonstrates a temperature coefficient of frequency of -124 ppm/K and a noise-equivalent power of 6.2 nW/√Hz at 10 kHz at room temperature. These properties make it highly suitable for high-sensitivity thermal sensing applications.
The practical applications of this technology in the energy sector are manifold. For instance, the platform’s ability to support heterogeneous integration with infrared absorbers enables uncooled infrared detection. This can be particularly useful in thermal imaging and monitoring systems, which are crucial for maintaining the efficiency and safety of energy infrastructure. Additionally, the fully integrated, all-optical on-chip readout capability paves the way for large-format, low-noise infrared sensing arrays, which can enhance the precision and reliability of thermal management in various energy systems.
Moreover, the compact and scalable nature of the platform makes it adaptable for integration into existing energy technologies. Its potential to improve thermal sensing and infrared detection can lead to more efficient energy production, distribution, and consumption, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable energy future.
In summary, the research conducted by Yue Yu, Ran Yin, Ian Anderson, Yinan Wang, Jack Kramer, Chun-Ho Lee, Xinyi Ren, Zaijun Chen, Michelle Povinelli, Dan Wasserman, Ruochen Lu, and Mengjie Yu represents a significant advancement in optomechanical technologies. Their work not only pushes the boundaries of thermal sensing capabilities but also opens up new avenues for enhancing energy sector applications. The findings, as detailed in their paper published in Nature Communications, underscore the potential of this innovative platform to revolutionize thermal management and infrared detection in the energy industry.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.