  Cavity optomechanics explores the coupling between the optical field and the
mechanical oscillation to induce cooling and regenerative oscillation in a
mechanical oscillator. So far, optomechanics relies on the detuning between the
cavity and an external pump laser, where the laser acts only as a power supply.
Here, we report a new scheme with mutual coupling between a mechanical
oscillator that supports a mirror of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser
(VCSEL) and the optical field, greatly enhancing the light-matter energy
transfer. In this work, we used an ultra-light-weight (130 pg)
high-contrast-grating (HCG) mirror in a VCSEL, whose reflectivity spectrum is
designed to facilitate strong optomechanical coupling, to demonstrate
optomechanically-induced regenerative oscillation of the laser optomechanical
cavity with > 550 nm self-oscillation amplitude of the micro-mechanical
oscillator, two to three orders of magnitude larger than typical. This new
scheme not only offers an efficient approach for high-speed wavelength-swept
sources, but also has far-reaching significance in the realization of quantum
entanglement of macroscopic objects and ultrasensitive measurement of
displacements and forces.

Optics