Quantum nano-optomechanical devices

光机械装置将光耦合到机械谐振器的运动中，并且对于跨越纳米到宏观尺度的基本现象的开创性观察至关重要。后者的一个例子是LIGO对引力波的壮观观测。在纳米尺度上，光力学设备最近首次观测到激光冷却到量子力学基态的机械谐振器，量子效应影响其机械运动。纳米级量子光力学器件也具有巨大的应用潜力。它们特别适合于将力或场转换为机械振荡器运动的传感应用。然而，迄今为止，量子受限光力学器件从未用于此类应用。这部分是由于制造与量子效应足够隔离噪声的光机械设备相关的技术挑战，从而限制了它们的性能，部分是由于将这些设备连接到传统光纤或自由空间光学元件和测量工具的困难。该提案描述了一个合作伙伴关系，通过建立在申请人和工业合作伙伴在过去三年中开发的独特和世界领先的纳米制造和实验能力之上，来解决这些挑战。它将开发和展示光机械设备，其对量子效应的敏感性被用于传感应用，并将解决阻止这些设备被更广泛的光学和纳米机械传感器社区采用的关键问题。在开发这些设备的过程中，纳米制造和设备集成技术将被开发出来，可以应用于广泛的量子平台。这包括深冷技术和团队的工业合作伙伴感兴趣的基于钻石的组件。在这个项目中开发的设备也将用于自旋声子转导和驱动，以及纳米磁传感器。这些设备将推动量子技术的发展，量子技术是一个新兴领域，具有显著影响加拿大经济的巨大潜力。

Optomechanical devices couple light to the motion of mechanical resonators, and are central to seminal observations of fundamental phenomena spanning nano- to macroscopic scales. An example of the latter is the spectacular observation of gravitational waves by LIGO. At the nanoscale, optomechanical devices have recently enabled the first observation of a mechanical resonator that is laser cooled to its quantum mechanical ground state, where quantum effects influence its mechanical motion. Nanoscale quantum optomechanical devices also have tremendous practical potential. They are particularly suited for sensing applications that convert a force or field into motion of a mechanical oscillator. However, to date, a quantum limited optomechanical device has never been used for such applications. This is in part due to the technical challenges associated with creating optomechanical devices that are sufficiently isolated from noise for quantum effects to limit their performance, and in part due to the difficulty of connecting these devices to conventional fiber or free-space optical components and measurement tools. This proposal describes a partnership to solve these challenges, by building upon unique and world-leading nanofabrication and experimental capabilities developed by the applicants and an industrial partner during the past three years. It will develop and demonstrate optomechanical devices whose sensitivity to quantum effects is harnessed for sensing applications, and will solve the critical problems preventing the adoption of these devices by the broader optical and nanomechanical sensor communities. En-route to developing these devices, nanofabrication and device integration technology will be developed that can be applied to a wide range of quantum platforms. This includes cryogenic technology and diamond based components of interest to the team's industrial partner. Devices developed during this project will also be used to for spin-phonon transduction and actuation, and as nanomagnetic sensors. These devices will advance development of quantum technology, an emerging field that has significant potential to dramatically impact Canada's economy.