Related papers: Force sensing with an optically levitated charged …
Oscillators based on levitated particles are promising for the development of ultrasensitive force detectors. The theoretical performance of levitated nanomechanical sensors is usually characterized by the so-called thermal noise limit…
Miniaturized mechanical resonators have proven to be excellent force sensors. However, they usually rely on resonant sensing schemes, and their excellent performance cannot be utilized for the detection of static forces. Here, we report on…
Nanomechanical resonators are widely operated as force and mass sensors with sensitivities in the zepto-Newton and yocto-gram regime, respectively. Their accuracy, however, is usually undermined by high uncertainties in the effective mass…
Optically levitated macroscopic objects are a powerful tool in the field of force sensing, owing to high sensitivity, absolute force calibration, environmental isolation and the advanced degree of control over their dynamics that have been…
Optically trapped nanospheres in high-vaccum experience little friction and hence are promising for ultra-sensitive force detection. Here we demonstrate measurement times exceeding $10^5$ seconds and zeptonewton force sensitivity with…
This paper demonstrates cooling of the center-of-mass motion of 10 $\mu$m-diameter optically levitated silica spheres to an effective temperature of $50\pm22 \mu$K, achieved by minimizing the technical pointing noise of the trapping laser.…
We propose an experiment using optically trapped and cooled dielectric microspheres for the detection of short-range forces. The center-of-mass motion of a microsphere trapped in vacuum can experience extremely low dissipation and quality…
Sensing weak forces through observing a mechanical motion near or below its quantum zero-point fluctuation has been desired in diverse areas. While mechanical oscillators have played a crucial role in such studies, their application to…
We report on the injection locking of an optically levitated nanomechanical oscillator (a silica nanosphere) to resonant intensity modulations of an external optical signal. We explore the characteristic features of injection locking in…
The sensitivity of a mechanical transducer is ultimately limited by its inherent quantum fluctuations. Here, we use an optically levitated nanoparticle to measure impulsive forces smaller than the particle's zero-point momentum uncertainty.…
Torque sensors such as the torsion balance enabled the first determination of the gravitational constant by Cavendish and the discovery of Coulomb's law. Torque sensors are also widely used in studying small-scale magnetism, the Casimir…
Manipulating the motions of macroscopic objects near their quantum mechanical uncertainties has been desired in diverse fields, including fundamental physics, sensing, and transducers. Despite significant progresses in ground-state cooling…
Nanomechanical resonator based on levitated particle exhibits unique advantages in the development of ultrasensitive electric field detector. We demonstrate a three-dimensional, high-sensitivity electric field measurement technology using…
Levitated nanoparticles are being intensively investigated from two different perspectives: as a potential realisation of macroscopic quantum coherence; and as ultra-sensitive sensors of force, down to the zeptoNewton level, with a range of…
A force measurement technique has been developed that utilizes a clamped fiber optic element both as a cantilever and as a highly sensitive probe of the static and dynamic displacement of a sample that is mounted near its free end. Light…
Following the first demonstration of a levitated nanosphere cooled to the quantum ground state in 2020 [1], macroscopic quantum sensors are seemingly on the horizon. The nanosphere's large mass as compared to other quantum systems enhances…
We demonstrate a classical analogy to the Fano anti-resonance in levitated optomechanics by applying a DC electric field. Specifically, we experimentally tune the Fano parameter by applying a DC voltage from 0~kV to 10~kV on a nearby…
Quantum measurements of mechanical systems can produce optical squeezing via ponderomotive forces. Its observation requires high environmental isolation and efficient detection, typically achieved by using optical cavities and cryogenic…
Cooling down nanomechanical force probes is a generic strategy to enhance their sensitivities through the concomitant reduction of their thermal noise and mechanical damping rates. However, heat conduction mechanisms become less efficient…
Levitated optomechanical systems are rapidly becoming leading tools for precision sensing of forces and accelerations acting on particles in the femtogram to nanogram mass range. These systems enable a high level of control over the…