high Q optical microresonators; nanomechanical oscillators; Cavity quantum optomechanics
Bernier N. R., Tóth L. D., Feofanov A. K., Kippenberg T. J. (2018), Level attraction in a microwave optomechanical circuit, in
Physical Review A, 98(2), 023841-023841.
Fedorov S.A., Sudhir V., Schilling R., Schütz H., Wilson D.J., Kippenberg T.J. (2018), Evidence for structural damping in a high-stress silicon nitride nanobeam and its implications for quantum optomechanics, in
Physics Letters A, 382(33), 2251-2255.
Malz Daniel, Tóth László D., Bernier Nathan R., Feofanov Alexey K., Kippenberg Tobias J., Nunnenkamp Andreas (2018), Quantum-Limited Directional Amplifiers with Optomechanics, in
Physical Review Letters, 120(2), 023601-023601.
GhadimiA. H., FedorovS. A., EngelsenN. J., BereyhiM. J., SchillingR., WilsonD. J., KippenbergT. J. (2018), Elastic strain engineering for ultralow mechanical dissipation, in
Science, 1.
Bernier N. R., Tóth L. D., Koottandavida A., Ioannou M. A., Malz D., Nunnenkamp A., Feofanov A. K., Kippenberg T. J. (2017), Nonreciprocal reconfigurable microwave optomechanical circuit, in
Nature Communications, 8(1), 604-604.
Sudhir V., Schilling R., Fedorov S. A., Schütz H., Wilson D. J., Kippenberg T. J. (2017), Quantum Correlations of Light from a Room-Temperature Mechanical Oscillator, in
Physical Review X, 7(3), 031055-031055.
Ghadimi Amir Hossein, Wilson Dalziel Joseph, Kippenberg Tobias J. (2017), Radiation and Internal Loss Engineering of High-Stress Silicon Nitride Nanobeams, in
Nano Letters, 17(6), 3501-3505.
Tóth L. D., Bernier N. R., Nunnenkamp A., Feofanov A. K., Kippenberg T. J. (2017), A dissipative quantum reservoir for microwave light using a mechanical oscillator, in
Nature Physics, 13(8), 787-793.
Sudhir V., Wilson D. J., Schilling R., Schütz H., Fedorov S. A., Ghadimi A. H., Nunnenkamp A., Kippenberg T. J. (2017), Appearance and Disappearance of Quantum Correlations in Measurement-Based Feedback Control of a Mechanical Oscillator, in
Physical Review X, 7(1), 011001-011001.
Javerzac-Galy C., Plekhanov K., Bernier N. R., Toth L. D., Feofanov A. K., Kippenberg T. J. (2016), On-chip microwave-to-optical quantum coherent converter based on a superconducting resonator coupled to an electro-optic microresonator, in
Physical Review A, 94(5), 053815-053815.
Schilling R., Schütz H., Ghadimi A. H., Sudhir V., Wilson D. J., Kippenberg T. J. (2016), Near-Field Integration of a SiN Nanobeam and a SiO2 Microcavity for Heisenberg-Limited Displacement Sensing, in
Physical Review Applied, 5(5), 054019-054019.
Cavity quantum optomechanics studies the interaction of light with micro- and nanomechanical oscillators. First studied in the context of gravity wave detection, cavity optomechanics has in the past decade evolved into a mature and active research field at the forefront of Atomic and Molecular Physics. The ability to extend quantum control from atoms, ions and molecules to engineering mechanical oscillators has given new impetus to quantum optics, NEMS/MEMS and photonics alike. While early work in optomechanics has in particular focused on achieving the quantum regime of mechanical systems, recent work has established low loss mechanical oscillators (with low decoherence rate) also as valuable resource for new functionality. Recent work has for instance demonstrated the ability of optomechanical systems as sensors for force, mass, charge or as transducers or converters between vastly different frequencies such as microwave and optical domain, as tools to measure RF field with optical techniques, or as quantum limited amplifiers of microwave fields. Experiments at EPFL have in particular focused in recent years on developing optomechancial systems based on nanomechanical oscillators with exceptionally low thermal decoherence rate and in advancing the ability to resolve the oscillators position in ‘real time’. Recent advances have culminated in measuring mechanical oscillators with a measurement rate approaching the thermal decoherence rate; a basic primitive for implementing real time quantum feedback on nanomechechanical systems. The present proposal aims at demonstrating real time quantum feedback for demonstrating suppression of quantum backaction and preparation of an oscillator in the quantum ground state by measurement based feedback; in contrast to the previously employed autonomous feedback. Indeed so far no experiments, neither using mechanical systems nor atoms or trapped ions, have been able to us measurement feedback schemes for ground state cooling, due to the stringent requirement to track a systems position on the timescale of its evolution. Recent advances in our group of realizing unity vacuum optomechanical coupling rate’s in near field coupled nanomechanical oscillators have opened the opportunity of realizing such measurements. We aim to verify the cooling via sideband thermometry. The developed system also enables to realize a further paradigm in quantum measurements; the observation of radiation pressure quantum backaction at room temperature. It thereby enables to access a regime in a room temperature table top experiments, that has been of interest in the context of gravity wave detection and which should lead to pondermotive squeezing of the light field.A second focus of the present proposal is to realize our recently proposed scheme of heralded single phonon generation experimentally. Using GHz localized radial breathing modes in a newly developed nano-optomechanical systems based on 1D photonic crystal nanobeams, in conjunction with the already existing He-3 buffer gas cooling technique that has been pioneered by EPFL, it should be possible to realize exceptionally cold and well thermalized mechanical modes. Using the not yet explored techniques of pulsed cooling it is planned to prepare with high fidelity the ground state. Moreover the system should enable to observed detailed balance; i.e. the quantum limits of sideband cooling. Finally the system, combined with single photon detection should provide an experimental platform to realize non-classical states of mechanical motion, which is a fascinating objective in the field of quantum optomechanics and directly builds on the optomechanical interactions of cooling and amplification. Both endeavors - real time quantum feedback and nonclassical state generation - rely on the existing infrastructure at EPFL and the significant expertise in He-3 low temperature experiments on the one and experience in designing and successfully overcoming the fabrication challenges of the nano-optomechanical devices, based on high Q, near field coupled nanobeams and high Q photonic crystal nanobeam cavities on the other hand.