Design of Mechanically Compliant Membrane Reflectors for Giant Optical Phase Nonlinearity
The work develops a framework to design mechanically compliant reflectors that cause optical phase shifts when moved by radiation pressure. By combining mechanical compliance, retained response range, and phase-coupled area, the authors calculate a predicted device-equivalent nonlinear index of 5.4 x 10⁻⁷ m² W⁻¹. This means these elements can be used to create optical nonlinearities.