Fig. 2: Device fabrication process and micrographs.

a Fabrication starts with a commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) chip (1). The chip undergoes carbon ion implantation followed by annealing to restore the crystalline structure and form G-centers (2). The chip is then sent to a photonics foundry for device layer etching (3) and oxide cladding deposition (4). In the final post-processing steps, MEMS structures are released via undercutting in wet etching, followed by critical point drying (5). Electrical contacts are deposited by metal evaporation through a shadow mask aligned with the pad area (6). b Isometric schematic of the fabricated device, showing the cantilever terminated by a Bragg reflector at the top and an edge coupler at the bottom. The central part of the device, illustrating three of the actual ten tethers, has been shortened in this view for clarity. c Micrograph of the suspended MEMS cantilever. d Micrograph of the linear inverse taper edge coupler. The micrographs were acquired from an equivalent device; the actual strain-tuning device was not imaged via scanning electron microscopy to avoid structural collapse due to stray charging.