Commercializing optomechanical sensors: from the classical to quantum regime

Cavity optomechanical systems show great promise as force and displacement sensors, with scope to operate across the classical to quantum regimes. I will discuss the commercial development of an optical whispering gallery mode (WGM) accelerometer, which relies on a dispersive and dissipative coupling between the cavity resonance and the motion of the cavity. The accelerometer operates at a sensitivity of micro-g Hz-1/2 (g=9.81 ms-2) with plans to approach nano-g Hz-1/2 through tailoring the mechanical and optical properties. I also describe the first prototype assembly, results from outdoor field-trials, and recent work using micro-electro-mechanical systems engineering to produce a chip-scale device.