Slowing and stopping light using an optomechanical crystal array

One of the major advances needed to realize all-optical information
\nprocessing of light is the ability to delay or coherently store and retrieve optical
\ninformation in a rapidly tunable manner. In the classical domain, this optical
\nbuffering is expected to be a key ingredient of managing the flow of information
\nover complex optical networks. Such a system also has profound implications for
\nquantum information processing, serving as a long-term memory that can store
\nthe full quantum information contained in an optical pulse. Here, we suggest a
\nnovel approach to light storage involving an optical waveguide coupled to an
\noptomechanical crystal array, where light in the waveguide can be dynamically
\nand coherently transferred into long-lived mechanical vibrations of the array.
\nUnder realistic conditions, this system is capable of achieving large bandwidths
\nand storage/delay times in a compact, on-chip platform.