Role of optical density of states in Brillouin optomechanical cooling

Dynamical back-action cooling of phonons in optomechanical systems having one optical mode is well studied. Systems with two optical modes have the potential to reach significantly higher cooling rate through resonant enhancement of both pump and scattered light. Here we experimentally investigate the role of dual optical densities of states on Brillouin optomechanical cooling, and the deviation from theory caused by thermal locking to the pump laser. Using this, we demonstrate a room temperature system operating very close to the strong coupling regime, where saturation of cooling is anticipated. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America