Atomic vapors offer many opportunities for manipulating electromagnetic signals across a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Here, a microwave signal with an audio-frequency modulation encodes information in an optical signal by exploiting an atomic microwave-to-optical double resonance, and magnetic-field coupling that is amplified by a resonant high-Q microwave cavity. Using this approach, audio signals are encoded as amplitude or frequency modulations in a GHz carrier, transmitted through a cable or over free space, demodulated through cavity-enhanced atom-microwave interactions, and finally, optically detected to extract the original information. This atom-cavity signal transduction technique provides a powerful means by which to transfer information between microwave and optical fields, all using a relatively simple experimental setup without active electronics.
Using electromagnetically induced transparency we show how the opto-mechanical systems can be used both as memory elements as well as for the transduction of optical fields. We use a double cavity optomechanical system which facilitates such applications. By tuning the frequency of the second cavity one can produce output fields at a variety of frequencies. We present analytical results for the steady state behavior which is controlled by the power and the detuning of the field driving the second cavity.
Quantum transduction refers to the coherent conversion between microwave and optical states, which can be achieved by quantum teleportation if given high fidelity microwave-optical entanglement, namely entanglement-based quantum transduction. Reliable microwave-optical entanglement can be generated using various platforms. In this paper, we base the discussion on piezo-optomechanical system and make the teleportation induced conversion scheme more concrete in the framework of quantum channel theory. By comparing the quantum capacity between the entanglement-based conversion channel and the tra…
Quantum transduction between microwave and optical frequencies is important for connecting superconducting quantum platforms in a quantum network. Ensembles of rare-earth ions are promising candidates to achieve this conversion due to their collective coherent properties at microwave and optical frequencies. Erbium ions are of particular interest because of their telecom wavelength optical transitions that are compatible with fiber communication networks. Here, we report the optical and electron spin properties of erbium doped yttrium orthovanadate (Er$^{3+}$:YVO$_{4}$), including high-resolut…
Microwave to optical transduction has received a great deal of interest from the cavity optomechanics community as a landmark application for electro-optomechanical systems. In this Letter, we demonstrate a novel transducer that combines high-frequency mechanical motion and a microwave cavity for the first time. The system consists of a 3D microwave cavity and a gallium arsenide optomechanical crystal, which has been placed in the microwave electric field maximum. This allows the microwave cavity to actuate the gigahertz-frequency mechanical breathing mode in the optomechanical crystal through…
A cavity opto-electromechanical system is reported which combines the ultrasensitive transduction of cavity optomechanical systems with the electrical actuation of nanoelectromechanical systems. Ultrasensitive mechanical transduction is achieved via opto-mechanical coupling. Electrical gradient forces as large as 0.40 $μ$N are realized, facilitating strong actuation with ultralow dissipation. A scanning probe microscope is implemented, capable of characterizing the mechanical modes. The integration of electrical actuation into optomechanical devices is an enabling step towards the regime of qu…
Quantum transducers between microwave and optical photons are essential for long-distance quantum networks based on superconducting qubits. An optically active self-assembled quantum dot molecule (QDM) is an attractive platform for the implementation of a quantum transducer because an exciton in a QDM can be efficiently coupled to both optical and microwave fields at the single-photon level. Recently, the transduction between microwave and optical photons has been demonstrated with a QDM integrated with a superconducting resonator. In this paper, we present a design of a QD-high impedance reso…
Pump-Free Microwave-Optical Bell Pair Generation for Teleportation-Based Quantum Transduction
University of Chicago（芝加哥大学）；Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago（普里茨克分子工程学院）；Q-NEXT, Argonne National Laboratory（Q-NEXT，阿贡国家实验室）；Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory（材料科学部，阿贡国家实验室）
The coherent transduction between microwave and optical frequencies is critical to interconnect superconducting quantum processors over long distances. However, it is challenging to establish such a quantum interface with high efficiency and small added noise based on the standard direct conversion scheme. Here, we propose a transduction scheme based on continuous-variable quantum teleportation. Reliable quantum information transmission can be realized with an arbitrarily small cooperativity, in contrast to the direct conversion scheme which requires a large minimum cooperativity. We show that…
Efficient transduction devices that reversibly convert optical and microwave quantum signals into each other are essential for integrating different technologies. Rare-earth ions in solids, and in particular Erbium ions, with both optical and microwave addressable transitions are promising candidates for designing transducers. We propose a microwave-to-optical quantum transducer scheme based on the dark state protocol in $\mathrm{^{167}Er}$ doped into yttrium orthosilicate (YSO) at zero external magnetic fields. Zero-field operation is beneficial for superconducting resonators that can incur e…
A device capable of converting single quanta of the microwave field to the optical domain is an outstanding endeavour in the context of quantum interconnects between distant superconducting qubits, but likewise can have applications in other fields, such as radio astronomy or, in the classical realm, microwave photonics. A variety of transduction approaches, based on optomechanical or electro-optical interactions, have been proposed and realized, yet the required vanishing added noises and an efficiency approaching unity, have not yet been attained. Here we present a new transduction scheme th…
Frequency conversion between microwave and optical photons is a key enabling technology to create links between superconducting quantum processors and to realize distributed quantum networks. We propose a microwave-optical transduction platform based on long-coherence-time superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities coupled to electro-optic optical cavities to mitigate the loss mechanisms that limit the attainment of high conversion efficiency. In the design, we optimize the microwave-optical field overlap and optical coupling losses, while achieving long microwave and optical photon lifeti…
Quantum transduction between the microwave and optical domains is an outstanding challenge for long-distance quantum networks based on superconducting qubits. For all transducers realized to date, the generally weak light-matter coupling does not allow high transduction efficiency, large bandwidth, and low noise simultaneously. Here we show that a large electric dipole moment of an exciton in an optically active self-assembled quantum dot molecule (QDM) efficiently couples to a microwave resonator field at a single-photon level. This allows for transduction between microwave and optical photon…
Optomechanical couplings involve both beam-splitter and two-mode-squeezing types of interactions. While the former underlies the utility of many applications, the latter creates unwanted excitations and is usually detrimental. In this work, we propose a simple but powerful method based on cavity parametric driving to suppress the unwanted excitation that does not require working with a deeply sideband-resolved cavity. Our approach is based on a simple observation: as both the optomechanical two-mode-squeezing interaction and the cavity parametric drive induce squeezing transformations of the r…
We implement a cavity opto-electromechanical system integrating electrical actuation capabilities of nanoelectromechanical devices with ultrasensitive mechanical transduction achieved via intra-cavity optomechanical coupling. Electrical gradient forces as large as 0.40 microN are realized, with simultaneous mechanical transduction sensitivity of 1.5 X 10^-18 m/rtHz representing a three orders of magnitude improvement over any nanoelectromechanical system to date. Opto-electromechanical feedback cooling is demonstrated, exhibiting strong squashing of the in-loop transduction signal. Out-of-loop…
Optical networks that distribute entanglement among quantum technologies will form a powerful backbone for quantum science but are yet to interface with leading quantum hardware such as superconducting qubits. Consequently, these systems remain isolated because microwave links at room temperature are noisy and lossy. Building connectivity requires interfaces that map quantum information between microwave and optical fields. While preliminary microwave-to-optical (M2O) transducers have been realized, developing efficient, low-noise devices that match superconducting qubit frequencies (gigahertz…
The successes of superconducting quantum circuits at local manipulation of quantum information and photonics technology at long-distance transmission of the same have spurred interest in the development of quantum transducers for efficient, low-noise, and bidirectional frequency conversion of photons between the microwave and optical domains. We propose to realize such functionality through the coupling of electrical, piezoelectric, and optomechanical resonators. The coupling of the mechanical subsystems enables formation of a resonant mechanical supermode that provides a mechanically-mediated…
Coherent microwave-to-optical transduction with Yb:YSO spins strongly coupled to a 3D resonator
Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, University of Calgary（卡尔加里大学量子科学与技术研究所）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary（卡尔加里大学物理与天文系）
We consider the Molecular Opto-mechanical systems in back-action amplification of single molecule Raman imaging. Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) is mapped into the dissipative cavity opto-mechanics system of coupled resonators. We investigate the plasmon molecular vibration interactions in strong coupling regimes of cavity opto-mechanics in the presence of impurities. Eigenfunction spectrum is analyzed for the normal mode splitting of photonic and mechanical hybrid system. Back-action transduction of photons into mechanical modes is investigated by avoided crossing due to the nonlinea…
We present a piezoelectric transducer in thin-film lithium niobate that converts a 1.7 GHz microwave signal to a mechanical wave in a single mode of a 1 micron-wide waveguide. We measure a -12 dB conversion efficiency that is limited by material loss. The design method we employ is widely applicable to the transduction of wavelength-scale structures used in emerging phononic circuits like those at the heart of many optomechanical microwave-to-optical quantum converters.
Linking superconducting quantum devices to optical fibers via microwave-optical quantum transducers may enable large scale quantum networks. For this application, transducers based on the Pockels electro-optic (EO) effect are promising for their direct conversion mechanism, high bandwidth, and potential for low-noise operation. However, previously demonstrated EO transducers require large optical pump power to overcome weak EO coupling and reach high efficiency. Here, we create an EO transducer in thin-film lithium niobate, leveraging the low optical loss and strong EO coupling in this platfor…
The T centre, a silicon-native spin-photon interface with telecommunications-band optical transitions and long-lived microwave qubits, offers an appealing new platform for both optical quantum memory and microwave to optical telecommunications band transduction. A wide range of quantum memory and transduction schemes could be implemented on such a platform, with advantages and disadvantages that depend sensitively on the ensemble properties. In this work we characterize T centre spin ensembles to inform device design. We perform the first T ensemble optical depth measurement and calculate the …
Low-loss fiber optic links have the potential to connect superconducting quantum processors together over long distances to form large scale quantum networks. A key component of these future networks is a quantum transducer that coherently and bidirectionally converts photons from microwave frequencies to optical frequencies. We present a platform for electro-optic photon conversion based on silicon-organic hybrid photonics. Our device combines high quality factor microwave and optical resonators with an electro-optic polymer cladding to perform microwave-to-optical photon conversion from 6.7 …
Efficient interconversion of both classical and quantum information between microwave and optical frequency is an important engineering challenge. The optomechanical approach with gigahertz-frequency mechanical devices has the potential to be extremely efficient due to the large optomechanical response of common materials, and the ability to localize mechanical energy into a micron-scale volume. However, existing demonstrations suffer from some combination of low optical quality factor, low electrical-to-mechanical transduction efficiency, and low optomechanical interaction rate. Here we demon…
Using light to measure an object's motion is central to operating mechanical sensors that probe forces and fields. Cavity optomechanical systems embed mechanical resonators inside optical resonators. This enhances the sensitivity of optomechanical measurements, but only if the mechanical resonator does not spoil the properties of the optical cavity. For example, cavity optomechanical detection of resonators made from optically absorbing materials, or whose geometry does not possess suitable spatial symmetry, is challenging. Here we demonstrate a system that overcomes challenges in measuring hi…
Long distance transmission of quantum information is a central ingredient of distributed quantum information processors for both computing and secure communication. Transmission between superconducting/solid-state quantum processors necessitates transduction of individual microwave photons to optical photons. Current approaches to transduction employ solid state links between electrical and optical domains, facing challenges from the thermal noise added by the strong classical pumps required for high conversion efficiency and bandwidth. Neutral atoms are an attractive alternative transducer: t…
Key Laboratory of Atomic and Subatomic Structure and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Structure and Fundamental Interactions of Matter, and School of Physics, South China Normal University（华南师范大学物理学院原子与亚原子结构及量子控制教育部重点实验室、广东省物质结构与基本相互作用卓越基础研究中心）；Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, and Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University（华南师范大学前沿物理研究院量子工程与量子材料广东省重点实验室、粤港澳量子物质联合实验室）；Quantum Science Center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area（粤港澳大湾区量子科学中心）；GPETR Center for Quantum Precision Measurement, South China Normal University（华南师范大学GPETR量子精密测量中心）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）
Connecting superconducting qubits to optical fiber necessitates the conversion of microwave photons to optical photons. Modern experimental demonstrations exhibit strong coupling between a microwave resonator and an optical cavity mediated through phononic modes in a mechanical oscillator. This paradigmatic transduction experiment is bounded by a theoretical efficiency with constant driving amplitudes on the electromagnetic resonators. By adding a parametric drive to the microwave resonator and optical cavity we discover the converted signal through the quantum transducer is amplified, while m…
Polarized atomic ensembles play a crucial role in precision measurements. We demonstrate a novel method of creating atomic polarization in an alkali vapor in a continuous-wave regime. The method relies on a combination of optical pumping by a laser beam and microwave transitions due to a cavity-enhanced magnetic field. With this approach, atomic internal angular momentum can be oriented along a static magnetic field at an arbitrary angle with respect to the laser beam. Furthermore, the atomic polarization depends on the microwave parameters, which can be used for microwave-to-optical transduct…
Quantum transducers that can convert quantum signals from the microwave to the optical domain are a crucial optical interface for quantum information technology. Coherent microwave-to-optics conversions have been realized with various physical platforms, but all of them are limited to low efficiencies of less than 50\%, the threshold of the no-cloning quantum regime. Here we report a coherent microwave-to-optics transduction using Rydberg atoms and off-resonant scattering technique with an efficiency of $82\pm 2\%$ and a bandwidth of about 1 MHz. The high conversion efficiency is maintained fo…
A transducer capable of converting quantum information stored as microwaves into telecom-wavelength signals is a critical piece of future quantum technology as it promises to enable the networking of quantum processors. Cavity optomechanical devices that are simultaneously coupled to microwave fields and optical resonances are being pursued in this regard. Yet even in the classical regime, developing optical modulators based on cavity optomechanics could provide lower power or higher bandwidth alternatives to current technology. Here we demonstrate a magnetically-mediated wavelength conversion…
