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Quantum electromechanics of a hypersonic crystal

Nature Nanotechnology volume 14, pages 334–339 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Recent technical developments in the fields of quantum electromechanics and optomechanics have spawned nanoscale mechanical transducers with the sensitivity to measure mechanical displacements at the femtometre scale and the ability to convert electromagnetic signals at the single photon level. A key challenge in this field is obtaining strong coupling between motion and electromagnetic fields without adding additional decoherence. Here we present an electromechanical transducer that integrates a high-frequency (0.42 GHz) hypersonic phononic crystal with a superconducting microwave circuit. The use of a phononic bandgap crystal enables quantum-level transduction of hypersonic mechanical motion and concurrently eliminates decoherence caused by acoustic radiation. Devices with hypersonic mechanical frequencies provide a natural pathway for integration with Josephson junction quantum circuits, a leading quantum computing technology, and nanophotonic systems capable of optical networking and distributing quantum information.

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Fig. 1: Nanobeam phononic crystal design.
Fig. 2: Phononic crystal shield.
Fig. 3: Fabricated structure.
Fig. 4: Microwave electromechanical spectroscopy.
Fig. 5: Mechanical ringdown and electromechanical coupling.
Fig. 6: Frequency jitter noise and mode occupancy.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author (O.P.) upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the AFOSR MURI Wiring Quantum Networks with Mechanical Transducers (grant FA9550-15-1-0015), the ARO-LPS Cross-Quantum Technology Systems programme (grant W911NF-18-1-0103), the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, an NSF Physics Frontiers Center (grant PHY-1125565) with support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Kavli Nanoscience Institute at Caltech. M.M. acknowledges support from a KNI Postdoctoral Fellowship. J.M.F. acknowledges support from an IQIM Postdoctoral Fellowship.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Mahmoud Kalaee, Mohammad Mirhosseini.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kavli Nanoscience Institute and Thomas J. Watson, Sr., Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Mahmoud Kalaee, Mohammad Mirhosseini, Paul B. Dieterle & Oskar Painter

  2. Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Mahmoud Kalaee, Mohammad Mirhosseini, Paul B. Dieterle, Johannes M. Fink & Oskar Painter

  3. Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria

    Matilda Peruzzo & Johannes M. Fink

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  1. Mahmoud Kalaee
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  2. Mohammad Mirhosseini
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  6. Oskar Painter
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Contributions

M.K., J.M.F. and O.P. came up with the concept and planned the experiment. M.K., P.B.D., M.M., M.P., J.M.K. and O.P. designed and fabricated the device. M.K., M.M. and O.P. performed the measurements and analysed the data. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Oskar Painter.

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Supplementary Figures 1–6, Supplementary Notes 1–8

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Kalaee, M., Mirhosseini, M., Dieterle, P.B. et al. Quantum electromechanics of a hypersonic crystal. Nat. Nanotechnol. 14, 334–339 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0377-2

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