Optically active mechanical modes of tapered optical fibers

Tapered optical fibers with a nanofiber waist are widely used tools for efficient coupling of light to photonic devices or quantum emitters via the nanofiber’s evanescent field. In order to ensure well-controlled coupling, the phase and polarization of the nanofiber guided light field have to be stable. Here, we show that in typical tapered optical fibers these quantities exhibit high-frequency thermal fluctuations. They originate from high-Q torsional oscillations that optomechanically couple to the nanofiber-guided light. We present a simple ab initio theoretical model that quantitatively explains the torsional mode spectrum and that can be used to design tapered optical fibers with tailored mechanical properties.