We investigate theoretically in detail the nonlinear effects in the response of an optical/microwave cavity coupled to a Duffing mechanical resonator. The cavity is driven by a laser at a red or blue mechanical subband, and a probe laser measures the reflection close to the cavity resonance. Under these conditions, we find that the cavity exhibits optomechanically induced reflection (OMIR) or absorption (OMIA) and investigate the optomechanical response in the limit of nonlinear driving of the mechanics. Similar to linear mechanical drive, in an overcoupled cavity the red sideband drive may lead to both OMIA and OMIR depending on the strength of the drive, whereas the blue sideband drive only leads to OMIR. The dynamics of the phase of the mechanical resonator leads to the difference between the shapes of the response of the cavity and the amplitude response of the driven Duffing oscillator, for example, at weak red sideband drive the OMIA dip has no inflection point. We also verify that mechanical nonlinearities beyond Duffing model have little effect on the size of the OMIA dip though they affect the width of the dip.

• Received 6 August 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.92.195415