On-chip cavity optomechanical coupling

*Correspondence: [email protected] Department of Physics, University of Alberta, T6G 2E1 Edmonton, AB, Canada Abstract Background: On-chip cavity optomechanics, in which strong co-localization of light and mechanical motion is engineered, relies on efficient coupling of light both into and out of the on-chip optical resonator. Here we detail our particular style of tapered and dimpled optical fibers, pioneered by the Painter group at Caltech, which are a versatile and reliable solution to efficient on-chip coupling. A brief overview of tapered, single mode fibers is presented, in which the single mode cutoff diameter is highlighted.