EvanErickson_FinalSlides.pdf

In recent decades, the momentum carried by light has been utilized to construct optomechanical systems, where the light and optical system influence each other. These systems have multiple practical uses like probing quantum properties of mechanical systems and creating high sensitivity instruments. To aid in the coupling of the optical and mechanical resonances, it is desirable to have lightweight membranes with high reflectivity and high mechanical quality factor. By placing crystal structures into the membrane, we can create a band gap of frequencies of optical and mechanical waves able to propagate through the material. Combined with a defect in the membrane, this crystal structure will help prevent energy losses in certain mechanical modes. By utilizing a Michelson interferometer, we were able to identify a defect enabled mode at 682 kHz and compute its quality factor.