Optically heralded microwave photon addition
Optically heralded microwave photon addition
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DOI：
10.1038/s41567-023-02129-w
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发表时间：
2023-07-20
期刊：
影响因子：
19.6
通讯作者：
Safavi-Naeini, Amir H.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Jiang, Wentao;Mayor, Felix M.;Safavi-Naeini, Amir H.
光学频率为几百太赫兹的光子可能是远距离传播量子信息的唯一途径。超导量子比特是实现大规模量子机器最有前途的方法之一，它在微波光子的频率上运行，频率大约低4万倍。为了让这些量子机器在相当远的距离上联网，我们必须弥合这个频率差距。在这里，我们实现并演示了一个可以产生相关光学光子和微波光子的传感器。我们用它来证明，通过检测一个光光子，我们产生了一个附加的微波光子，效率接近35%。我们的装置使用千兆赫纳米机械共振作为中介，通过强光机械和压电相互作用有效地耦合到光学和微波通道。我们展示了换能器以5%的频率转换效率连续工作，输入参考附加噪声接近100，脉冲微波光子以15 Hz的预示率产生。器件中的光吸收产生的热噪声小于两个微波光子。提高系统效率和器件性能是实现远距离微波频率量子节点之间高纠缠率的必要条件，但这些增强是可以实现的。许多量子设备在微波状态下工作，但远距离通信依赖于光光子。纳米机械谐振器可用于产生连接两个频率区域的纠缠光学光子和微波光子。
Photons with optical frequencies of a few hundred terahertz are perhaps the only way to distribute quantum information over long distances. Superconducting qubits, which are one of the most promising approaches for realizing large-scale quantum machines, operate on microwave photons at frequencies that are similar to 40,000 times lower. To network these quantum machines across appreciable distances, we must bridge this frequency gap. Here we implement and demonstrate a transducer that can generate correlated optical and microwave photons. We use it to show that by detecting an optical photon we generate an added microwave photon with an efficiency of similar to 35%. Our device uses a gigahertz nanomechanical resonance as an intermediary, which efficiently couples to optical and microwave channels through strong optomechanical and piezoelectric interactions. We show continuous operation of the transducer with 5% frequency conversion efficiency, input-referred added noise of similar to 100, and pulsed microwave photon generation at a heralding rate of 15 Hz. Optical absorption in the device generates thermal noise of less than two microwave photons. Improvements of the system efficiencies and device performance are necessary to realize a high rate of entanglement generation between distant microwave-frequency quantum nodes, but these enhancements are within reach.Many quantum devices operate in the microwave regime, but long-distance communication relies on optical photons. A nanomechanical resonator can be used to create entangled optical and microwave photons linking the two frequency regimes.