Slow Light And Broadband Coherent Phonon Generation

Recent advance in controlling optical forces using nanostructures suggests that nanoscale optical waveguides are capable of generating coherent acoustic phonons efficiently through a combination of radiation pressure and electrostriction. We discuss the critical roles of group velocity in such processes. This photon-phonon coupling would allow an acoustic intermediary to perform on-chip optical delay with a capacity 10(5) greater than photonic delay lines of the same size.