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Hybrid circuit cavity quantum electrodynamics with a micromechanical resonator

Nature volume 494, pages 211–215 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Hybrid quantum systems with inherently distinct degrees of freedom have a key role in many physical phenomena. Well-known examples include cavity quantum electrodynamics1, trapped ions2, and electrons and phonons in the solid state. In those systems, strong coupling makes the constituents lose their individual character and form dressed states, which represent a collective form of dynamics. As well as having fundamental importance, hybrid systems also have practical applications, notably in the emerging field of quantum information control. A promising approach is to combine long-lived atomic states2,3 with the accessible electrical degrees of freedom in superconducting cavities and quantum bits4,5 (qubits). Here we integrate circuit cavity quantum electrodynamics6,7 with phonons. Apart from coupling to a microwave cavity, our superconducting transmon qubit8, consisting of tunnel junctions and a capacitor, interacts with a phonon mode in a micromechanical resonator, and thus acts like an atom coupled to two different cavities. We measure the phonon Stark shift, as well as the splitting of the qubit spectral line into motional sidebands, which feature transitions between the dressed electromechanical states. In the time domain, we observe coherent conversion of qubit excitation to phonons as sideband Rabi oscillations. This is a model system with potential for a quantum interface, which may allow for storage of quantum information in long-lived phonon states, coupling to optical photons or for investigations of strongly coupled quantum systems near the classical limit.

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Figure 1: Hybrid cavity QED set-up.
Figure 2: Mechanical Stark shift.
Figure 3: Motional sideband transitions.
Figure 4: Electromechanical Rabi oscillations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Silveri, E. Thuneberg and T. Heikkilä for discussions. This work was supported by the Academy of Finland under CoE in Low Temperature Quantum Phenomena and Devices and project 141559, and by the European Research Council (grant number 240387-NEMSQED) and EU-FP7-NMP-246026. The work benefited from the facilities at the Micronova Nanofabrication Center. J.-M.P. acknowledges support from the Väisälä Foundation, the Emil Aaltonen Foundation and the Kaute Foundation, and J.L. acknowledges support from NGSMP.

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  1. S. U. Cho & M. A. Sillanpää

    Present address: Present addresses: Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon 305-340, South Korea (S.U.C.); Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University School of Science, PO Box 11100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland (M.A.S.).,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Low Temperature Laboratory, Aalto University, PO Box 15100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland,

    J.-M. Pirkkalainen, S. U. Cho, Jian Li, G. S. Paraoanu, P. J. Hakonen & M. A. Sillanpää

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  1. J.-M. Pirkkalainen
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Contributions

M.A.S. conceived the experiment and designed the experimental set-up with P.J.H. J.L., J.-M.P. and G.S.P. designed the circuit layout. S.U.C. and J.-M.P. fabricated the samples. J.-M.P. conducted the measurements, developed the theory and wrote the manuscript. S.U.C. helped with the measurements. All authors commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to J.-M. Pirkkalainen.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

This file contains Supplementary Figures 1–14, Supplementary Methods, Supplementary Discussion, Supplementary Equations, and additional references. The file contains a detailed discussion of device fabrication, various calibrations in the experiment, theoretical modeling using different approaches and discussion of additional data not covered in the main text. (PDF 1717 kb)

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Pirkkalainen, JM., Cho, S., Li, J. et al. Hybrid circuit cavity quantum electrodynamics with a micromechanical resonator. Nature 494, 211–215 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11821

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