Characterization of Optomechanical RF frequency Mixing/Down-Conversion and its Application in Photonic RF Receivers

We have characterized the process of radio-frequency (RF) frequency mixing and signal down-conversion in radiation pressure driven optomechanical RF oscillators. We have studied the dependence of the optomechanical mixing process on RF frequency, optical pump power and wavelength detuning and verified the existence of a linear regime where down-converted power is proportional to the RF input power. These outcomes show that optomechanical oscillator (OMO) has the potential to be used as frequency down-converter in RF over fiber links and photonic RF receivers. We have verified the fidelity of the optomechanical down-conversion process and demonstrated the first optomechanical voice down-conversion from an RF carrier.