Cooling mechanical resonators to quantum ground state from room temperature

Ground-state cooling of mesoscopic mechanical resonators is a fundamental requirement for test of quantum theory and for implementation of quantum information. We analyze the cavity optomechanical cooling limits in the intermediate coupling regime, where the light-enhanced optomechanical coupling strength is comparable with the cavity decay rate. It is found that in this regime the cooling breaks through the limits in both the strong and weak coupling regimes. The lowest cooling limit is derived analytically at the optimal conditions of cavity decay rate and coupling strength. In essence, cooling to the quantum ground state requires $Q_{\mathrm{m}}>2.4n_{\mathrm{th}}$, with $Q_{\mathrm{m}}$ being the mechanical quality factor and $n_{\mathrm{th}}$ being the thermal phonon number. Remarkably, ground-state cooling is achievable starting from room temperature, when mechanical $Q$-frequency product $Q_{\mathrm{m}}{\nu>1.5}\times10^{13}$, and both of the cavity decay rate and the coupling strength exceed the thermal decoherence rate. Our study provides a general framework for optimizing the backaction cooling of mesoscopic mechanical resonators

Determination of the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier in epitaxial growth of thin films

Journal ArticleWe demonstrate an approach for determining the "effective" Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) step-edge barrier, an important kinetic constant to control the interlayer mass transport in epitaxial growth of thin films. The approach exploits the rate difference between the growth and/or decay of an adatom and a vacancy two-dimensional island, which allows the "effective" ES barrier to be determined uniquely by fitting with a single parameter. Application to growth of Pb islands produces an effective ES barrier of ~83±10 meV on Pb(111) surface at room temperature

Fabricating artificial nanowells with tunable size and shape by using scanning tunneling microscopy

Journal ArticleThe authors report a method of precisely fabricating the large-scale nanocrystals with well-defined shape and size. The (111) oriented Pb islands deposited on Si(111)-7x7 substrate were investigated with a manipulation technique based on scanning tunneling microscopy. By applying a series of voltage pulses on the as-grown islands, artificial center-full-hollowed or half-hollowed nanowells are created, and the thickness and shape can be precisely regulated via tuning the manipulation parameters. Artificial nanoarray patterns in micron scale are also constructed using this method