322 research outputs found
State Transfer Between a Mechanical Oscillator and Microwave Fields in the Quantum Regime
Recently, macroscopic mechanical oscillators have been coaxed into a regime
of quantum behavior, by direct refrigeration [1] or a combination of
refrigeration and laser-like cooling [2, 3]. This exciting result has
encouraged notions that mechanical oscillators may perform useful functions in
the processing of quantum information with superconducting circuits [1, 4-7],
either by serving as a quantum memory for the ephemeral state of a microwave
field or by providing a quantum interface between otherwise incompatible
systems [8, 9]. As yet, the transfer of an itinerant state or propagating mode
of a microwave field to and from a mechanical oscillator has not been
demonstrated owing to the inability to agilely turn on and off the interaction
between microwave electricity and mechanical motion. Here we demonstrate that
the state of an itinerant microwave field can be coherently transferred into,
stored in, and retrieved from a mechanical oscillator with amplitudes at the
single quanta level. Crucially, the time to capture and to retrieve the
microwave state is shorter than the quantum state lifetime of the mechanical
oscillator. In this quantum regime, the mechanical oscillator can both store
and transduce quantum information
Sideband Cooling Micromechanical Motion to the Quantum Ground State
The advent of laser cooling techniques revolutionized the study of many
atomic-scale systems. This has fueled progress towards quantum computers by
preparing trapped ions in their motional ground state, and generating new
states of matter by achieving Bose-Einstein condensation of atomic vapors.
Analogous cooling techniques provide a general and flexible method for
preparing macroscopic objects in their motional ground state, bringing the
powerful technology of micromechanics into the quantum regime. Cavity opto- or
electro-mechanical systems achieve sideband cooling through the strong
interaction between light and motion. However, entering the quantum regime,
less than a single quantum of motion, has been elusive because sideband cooling
has not sufficiently overwhelmed the coupling of mechanical systems to their
hot environments. Here, we demonstrate sideband cooling of the motion of a
micromechanical oscillator to the quantum ground state. Entering the quantum
regime requires a large electromechanical interaction, which is achieved by
embedding a micromechanical membrane into a superconducting microwave resonant
circuit. In order to verify the cooling of the membrane motion into the quantum
regime, we perform a near quantum-limited measurement of the microwave field,
resolving this motion a factor of 5.1 from the Heisenberg limit. Furthermore,
our device exhibits strong-coupling allowing coherent exchange of microwave
photons and mechanical phonons. Simultaneously achieving strong coupling,
ground state preparation and efficient measurement sets the stage for rapid
advances in the control and detection of non-classical states of motion,
possibly even testing quantum theory itself in the unexplored region of larger
size and mass.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure
Control of microwave signals using circuit nano-electromechanics
Waveguide resonators are crucial elements in sensitive astrophysical
detectors [1] and circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) [2]. Coupled to
artificial atoms in the form of superconducting qubits [3, 4], they now provide
a technologically promising and scalable platform for quantum information
processing tasks [2, 5-8]. Coupling these circuits, in situ, to other quantum
systems, such as molecules [9, 10], spin ensembles [11, 12], quantum dots [13]
or mechanical oscillators [14, 15] has been explored to realize hybrid systems
with extended functionality. Here, we couple a superconducting coplanar
waveguide resonator to a nano-coshmechanical oscillator, and demonstrate
all-microwave field controlled slowing, advancing and switching of microwave
signals. This is enabled by utilizing electromechanically induced transparency
[16-18], an effect analogous to electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)
in atomic physics [19]. The exquisite temporal control gained over this
phenomenon provides a route towards realizing advanced protocols for storage of
both classical and quantum microwave signals [20-22], extending the toolbox of
control techniques of the microwave field.Comment: 9 figure
Microwave amplification with nanomechanical resonators
Sensitive measurement of electrical signals is at the heart of modern science
and technology. According to quantum mechanics, any detector or amplifier is
required to add a certain amount of noise to the signal, equaling at best the
energy of quantum fluctuations. The quantum limit of added noise has nearly
been reached with superconducting devices which take advantage of
nonlinearities in Josephson junctions. Here, we introduce a new paradigm of
amplification of microwave signals with the help of a mechanical oscillator. By
relying on the radiation pressure force on a nanomechanical resonator, we
provide an experimental demonstration and an analytical description of how the
injection of microwaves induces coherent stimulated emission and signal
amplification. This scheme, based on two linear oscillators, has the advantage
of being conceptually and practically simpler than the Josephson junction
devices, and, at the same time, has a high potential to reach quantum limited
operation. With a measured signal amplification of 25 decibels and the addition
of 20 quanta of noise, we anticipate near quantum-limited mechanical microwave
amplification is feasible in various applications involving integrated
electrical circuits.Comment: Main text + supplementary information. 14 pages, 3 figures (main
text), 18 pages, 6 figures (supplementary information
Strong and Tunable Nonlinear Optomechanical Coupling in a Low-Loss System
A major goal in optomechanics is to observe and control quantum behavior in a
system consisting of a mechanical resonator coupled to an optical cavity. Work
towards this goal has focused on increasing the strength of the coupling
between the mechanical and optical degrees of freedom; however, the form of
this coupling is crucial in determining which phenomena can be observed in such
a system. Here we demonstrate that avoided crossings in the spectrum of an
optical cavity containing a flexible dielectric membrane allow us to realize
several different forms of the optomechanical coupling. These include cavity
detunings that are (to lowest order) linear, quadratic, or quartic in the
membrane's displacement, and a cavity finesse that is linear in (or independent
of) the membrane's displacement. All these couplings are realized in a single
device with extremely low optical loss and can be tuned over a wide range in
situ; in particular, we find that the quadratic coupling can be increased three
orders of magnitude beyond previous devices. As a result of these advances, the
device presented here should be capable of demonstrating the quantization of
the membrane's mechanical energy.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Coherent optical wavelength conversion via cavity-optomechanics
We theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate coherent wavelength
conversion of optical photons using photon-phonon translation in a
cavity-optomechanical system. For an engineered silicon optomechanical crystal
nanocavity supporting a 4 GHz localized phonon mode, optical signals in a 1.5
MHz bandwidth are coherently converted over a 11.2 THz frequency span between
one cavity mode at wavelength 1460 nm and a second cavity mode at 1545 nm with
a 93% internal (2% external) peak efficiency. The thermal and quantum limiting
noise involved in the conversion process is also analyzed, and in terms of an
equivalent photon number signal level are found to correspond to an internal
noise level of only 6 and 4x10-3 quanta, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, appendi
A picogram and nanometer scale photonic crystal opto-mechanical cavity
We describe the design, fabrication, and measurement of a cavity
opto-mechanical system consisting of two nanobeams of silicon nitride in the
near-field of each other, forming a so-called "zipper" cavity. A photonic
crystal patterning is applied to the nanobeams to localize optical and
mechanical energy to the same cubic-micron-scale volume. The picrogram-scale
mass of the structure, along with the strong per-photon optical gradient force,
results in a giant optical spring effect. In addition, a novel damping regime
is explored in which the small heat capacity of the zipper cavity results in
blue-detuned opto-mechanical damping.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Observation of Spontaneous Brillouin Cooling
While radiation-pressure cooling is well known, the Brillouin scattering of
light from sound is considered an acousto-optical amplification-only process.
It was suggested that cooling could be possible in multi-resonance Brillouin
systems when phonons experience lower damping than light. However, this regime
was not accessible in traditional Brillouin systems since backscattering
enforces high acoustical frequencies associated with high mechanical damping.
Recently, forward Brillouin scattering in microcavities has allowed access to
low-frequency acoustical modes where mechanical dissipation is lower than
optical dissipation, in accordance with the requirements for cooling. Here we
experimentally demonstrate cooling via such a forward Brillouin process in a
microresonator. We show two regimes of operation for the Brillouin process:
acoustical amplification as is traditional, but also for the first time, a
Brillouin cooling regime. Cooling is mediated by an optical pump, and scattered
light, that beat and electrostrictively attenuate the Brownian motion of the
mechanical mode.Comment: Supplementary material include
Resolved Sideband Cooling of a Micromechanical Oscillator
Micro- and nanoscale opto-mechanical systems provide radiation pressure
coupling of optical and mechanical degree of freedom and are actively pursued
for their ability to explore quantum mechanical phenomena of macroscopic
objects. Many of these investigations require preparation of the mechanical
system in or close to its quantum ground state. Remarkable progress in ground
state cooling has been achieved for trapped ions and atoms confined in optical
lattices. Imperative to this progress has been the technique of resolved
sideband cooling, which allows overcoming the inherent temperature limit of
Doppler cooling and necessitates a harmonic trapping frequency which exceeds
the atomic species' transition rate. The recent advent of cavity back-action
cooling of mechanical oscillators by radiation pressure has followed a similar
path with Doppler-type cooling being demonstrated, but lacking inherently the
ability to attain ground state cooling as recently predicted. Here we
demonstrate for the first time resolved sideband cooling of a mechanical
oscillator. By pumping the first lower sideband of an optical microcavity,
whose decay rate is more than twenty times smaller than the eigen-frequency of
the associated mechanical oscillator, cooling rates above 1.5 MHz are attained.
Direct spectroscopy of the motional sidebands reveals 40-fold suppression of
motional increasing processes, which could enable reaching phonon occupancies
well below unity (<0.03). Elemental demonstration of resolved sideband cooling
as reported here should find widespread use in opto-mechanical cooling
experiments. Apart from ground state cooling, this regime allows realization of
motion measurement with an accuracy exceeding the standard quantum limit.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
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