Optomechanical Crystal Devices

We present the basic ideas and techniques utilized in recent work on optomechanical crystals. Optomechanical crystals are nanofabricated cavity optomechanical systems where the confinement of light and motion is obtained by nanopatterning periodic structures in thin-films. In this chapter we start from a basic review of the properties of optical and elastic waves in nanostructures, before introducing the properties and design of periodic structures. After reviewing fabrication and characterization methods, experimental results in 1D and 2D systems are presented