51 research outputs found
Demonstration of efficient nonreciprocity in a microwave optomechanical circuit
The ability to engineer nonreciprocal interactions is an essential tool in
modern communication technology as well as a powerful resource for building
quantum networks. Aside from large reverse isolation, a nonreciprocal device
suitable for applications must also have high efficiency (low insertion loss)
and low output noise. Recent theoretical and experimental studies have shown
that nonreciprocal behavior can be achieved in optomechanical systems, but
performance in these last two attributes has been limited. Here we demonstrate
an efficient, frequency-converting microwave isolator based on the
optomechanical interactions between electromagnetic fields and a mechanically
compliant vacuum gap capacitor. We achieve simultaneous reverse isolation of
more than 20 dB and insertion loss less than 1.5 dB over a bandwidth of 5 kHz.
We characterize the nonreciprocal noise performance of the device, observing
that the residual thermal noise from the mechanical environments is routed
solely to the input of the isolator. Our measurements show quantitative
agreement with a general coupled-mode theory. Unlike conventional isolators and
circulators, these compact nonreciprocal devices do not require a static
magnetic field, and they allow for dynamic control of the direction of
isolation. With these advantages, similar devices could enable programmable,
high-efficiency connections between disparate nodes of quantum networks, even
efficiently bridging the microwave and optical domains.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Improving broadband displacement detection with quantum correlations
Interferometers enable ultrasensitive measurement in a wide array of
applications from gravitational wave searches to force microscopes. The role of
quantum mechanics in the metrological limits of interferometers has a rich
history, and a large number of techniques to surpass conventional limits have
been proposed. In a typical measurement configuration, the tradeoff between the
probe's shot noise (imprecision) and its quantum backaction results in what is
known as the standard quantum limit (SQL). In this work we investigate how
quantum correlations accessed by modifying the readout of the interferometer
can access physics beyond the SQL and improve displacement sensitivity.
Specifically, we use an optical cavity to probe the motion of a silicon nitride
membrane off mechanical resonance, as one would do in a broadband displacement
or force measurement, and observe sensitivity better than the SQL dictates for
our quantum efficiency. Our measurement illustrates the core idea behind a
technique known as \textit{variational readout}, in which the optical readout
quadrature is changed as a function of frequency to improve broadband
displacement detection. And more generally our result is a salient example of
how correlations can aid sensing in the presence of backaction.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure
Tunable coupling to a mechanical oscillator circuit using a coherent feedback network
We demonstrate a fully cryogenic microwave feedback network composed of
modular superconducting devices connected by transmission lines and designed to
control a mechanical oscillator coupled to one of the devices. The network
features an electromechanical device and a tunable controller that coherently
receives, processes and feeds back continuous microwave signals that modify the
dynamics and readout of the mechanical state. While previous electromechanical
systems represent some compromise between efficient control and efficient
readout of the mechanical state, as set by the electromagnetic decay rate, the
tunable controller produces a closed-loop network that can be dynamically and
continuously tuned between both extremes much faster than the mechanical
response time. We demonstrate that the microwave decay rate may be modulated by
at least a factor of 10 at a rate greater than times the mechanical
response rate. The system is easy to build and suggests that some useful
functions may arise most naturally at the network-level of modular, quantum
electromagnetic devices.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, final published versio
Measurement of the shear strength of a charge-density wave
We have explored the shear plasticity of charge density waves (CDWs) in
niobium triselenide samples with cross-sections having a single
micro-fabricated thickness step. Shear stresses along the step result from
thickness-dependent CDW pinning. For small thickness differences the CDW depins
elastically at the volume average depinning field. For large thickness
differences the thicker, more weakly pinned side depins first via plastic
shear. A simple model describes the qualitative features of our data, and
yields a value for the CDW's shear strength of approximately 9.5*10^3 N/m^2 and
a lower bound for the elastic shear modulus of 2.1*10^4 N/m^2. These values are
orders of magnitude smaller than the CDW's longitudinal modulus but are much
larger than corresponding values for flux-line lattices, and may explain the
relative coherence of the CDW response.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
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