Demonstrating coherent optomechanical control of spin quantum memory

光学机械设备通过光辐射压力将光耦合到机械物体上：光辐射压力是光子散射到界面上施加在界面上的力。当在纳米尺度上实施时，这些设备能够实现机械运动的相干光学驱动。这一运动可以反过来耦合到广泛的物理系统，包括那些以其他方式不与光相互作用的系统，从而允许光学机械设备控制这样的光学“暗”系统。这份申请中描述的设备是世界领先的这种性质的实验所急需的：使用光机械来连接光和电子自旋。这些自旋作为量子网络所需的量子存储器非常出色，但它们并不连接到最适合这些网络的电信波长光子。通过利用机械物体与光和自旋系统耦合的能力，光学机械设备可以解决这个问题。申请的设备资金补充了授予巴克莱实验室的NSERC发现、创建和战略伙伴关系赠款，以支持HQP在量子自旋-光学机械领域的工作，并且对于HQP完成第一个光学机械自旋-光子界面的演示至关重要。 巴克莱实验室已经确立了自己在用钻石制造光学机械设备方面的世界领先地位。使用实验室HQP发明的纳米制造工艺，并被斯坦福大学和麻省理工学院等机构的研究小组采用，实验室HQP创造了钻石光学机械设备，其机械运动可以用光精确控制，从而获得奖项和高影响力的出版物。HQP现在正试图使用这种强大的光机械控制来将远程通信波长光与由金刚石氮空位中心缺陷的电子自旋形成的量子记忆连接起来。HQP最近进行了世界上第一次原理验证测量，展示了这个长期受到追捧的界面。然而，最近的设备故障，以及仪器的技术问题，阻碍了这一里程碑式的实验的完成。 所要求的设备将通过进行必要的修理和设备升级来消除这些障碍；没有这些设备，第一次演示就无法完成。实现这一接口将使加拿大成为旋转光学机械系统的世界领先者。这个项目是在与几个强大的国际研究小组的激烈竞争中进行的。在获取设备方面的任何拖延都将导致巴克莱实验室失去目前的优势，并允许其他研究人员(如UCSB和哈佛大学)迎头赶上。这将严重降低工作的影响，并对HQP结果产生负面影响。这台设备将立即被大约10名总部基地人员使用，另有10名预计将在未来五年内受益，所有这些人都在一个包容和支持的环境中工作，努力减少物理学研究中现有的不平等。

Optomechanical devices couple light to mechanical objects through optical radiation pressure: the force exerted on an interface by photons scattering off it. When implemented at the nanoscale, these devices enable coherent optical driving of mechanical motion. This motion can in turn be coupled to a wide range of physical systems, including those that do not otherwise interact with light, allowing optomechanical devices to control such optically “dark” systems. The equipment described in this request is urgently needed for world leading experiments of this nature: using optomechanics to interface light with electron spins. These spins excel as quantum memories needed for quantum networks, but they do not connect to telecommunication wavelength photons best suited for these networks. By harnessing the ability of mechanical objects to couple to both light and spin systems, optomechanical devices can solve this problem. The requested funding for equipment complements NSERC Discovery, CREATE and Strategic Partnership grants awarded to the Barclay lab to support HQP working in the area of quantum spin-optomechanics, and is critically needed for HQP to finish demonstrating the first optomechanical spin-photon interface. The Barclay lab has established itself as the world leader in fabricating optomechanical devices from diamond. Using a nanofabrication process invented by lab HQP and adopted by research groups at institutions such as Stanford and MIT, lab HQP have created diamond optomechanical devices whose mechanical motion can be exquisitely controlled with light, leading to awards and high impact publications. HQP are now attempting to use this powerful optomechanical control to interface telecommunication wavelength light with quantum memories formed by the electron spin of diamond nitrogen vacancy centre defects. HQP have recently made the world's first proof-of-principle measurements demonstrating this long sought-after interface. However, recent equipment failures, as well as technical problems with the apparatus, have prevented the completion of this milestone experiment. The requested equipment will address these barriers by making necessary repairs and equipment upgrades; without it this first demonstration cannot be completed. Realising this interface will establish Canada as the world leader in spin-optomechanical systems. This project is being conducted in close competition with several formidable international research groups. Any delay in acquiring the equipment will cause the Barclay lab's current advantage to be lost and allow other researchers (e.g. at UCSB and Harvard) to catch up. This will severely diminish the impact of the work and negatively affect HQP outcomes. This equipment will be immediately used by approximately 10 HQP, with another 10 projected to benefit from it over the next five years, all of whom work in an inclusive and supportive environment that strives to reduce existing inequities in physics research.