Nanomechanical systems can support highly coherent microwave-frequency excitations at cryogenic temperatures. However, generating sufficient coupling between these devices and superconducting quantum circuits is challenging due to the vastly different length scales of acoustic and electromagnetic excitations. Here we demonstrate a general method for calculating piezoelectric interactions between quantum circuits and arbitrary phononic nanostructures. We illustrate our technique by studying the coupling between a transmon qubit and bulk acoustic-wave, Lamb-wave, and phononic crystal resonators, and show that very large coupling rates are possible in all three cases. Our results suggest a route to phononic circuits and systems that are nonlinear at the single-phonon level.
Nanomechanical systems can support highly coherent microwave-frequency excitations at cryogenic temperatures. However, generating sufficient coupling between these devices and superconducting quantum circuits is challenging due to the vastly different length scales of acoustic and electromagnetic excitations. Here we demonstrate a general method for calculating piezoelectric interactions between quantum circuits and arbitrary phononic nanostructures. We illustrate our technique by studying the coupling between a transmon qubit and bulk acoustic-wave, Lamb-wave, and phononic crystal resonators, and show that very large coupling rates are possible in all three cases. Our results suggest a route to phononic circuits and systems that are nonlinear at the single-phonon level.
Mechanical objects have important practical applications in the fields of quantum information and metrology as quantum memories or transducers for measuring and connecting different types of quantum systems. The field of electromechanics is in pursuit of a robust and highly coherent device that couples motion to nonlinear quantum objects such as superconducting qubits. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a high-frequency bulk acoustic wave resonator that is strongly coupled to a superconducting qubit using piezoelectric transduction with a cooperativity of 260. We measure qubit and mechanical coherence times on the order of 10 microseconds. Our device requires only simple fabrication methods and provides controllable access to a multitude of phonon modes. We demonstrate quantum control and measurement on gigahertz phonons at the single-quantum level.
Phonon modes at microwave frequencies can be cooled to their quantum ground state using conventional cryogenic refrigeration, providing a convenient way to study and manipulate quantum states at the single phonon level. Phonons are of particular interest because mechanical deformations can mediate interactions with a wide range of different quantum systems, including solid-state defects, superconducting qubits, and optical photons when using optomechanically active constructs. Phonons, thus, hold promise for quantum-focused applications as diverse as sensing, information processing, and communication. Here, we describe a piezoelectric quantum bulk acoustic resonator (QBAR) with a 4.88 GHz resonant frequency, which, at cryogenic temperatures, displays large electromechanical coupling strength combined with a high intrinsic mechanical quality factor, Qi≈4.3×104. Using a recently developed flip-chip technique, we couple this QBAR resonator to a superconducting qubit on a separate die and demonstrate the quantum control of the mechanics in the coupled system. This approach promises a facile and flexible experimental approach to quantum acoustics and hybrid quantum systems.
Mechanical resonators are a promising way for interfacing qubits in order to realize hybrid quantum systems that offer great possibilities for applications. Mechanical systems can have very long energy lifetimes, and they can be further interfaced to other systems. Moreover, integration of a mechanical oscillator with qubits creates a potential platform for the exploration of quantum physics in macroscopic mechanical degrees of freedom. The utilization of high overtone bulk acoustic resonators coupled to superconducting qubits is an intriguing platform towards these goals. These resonators exhibit a combination of high-frequency and high-quality factors. They can reach their quantum ground state at dilution refrigeration temperatures and they can be strongly coupled to superconducting qubits via their piezoelectric effect. In this paper, we demonstrate our system where bulk acoustic phonons of a high overtone resonator are coupled to a transmon qubit in a planar circuit architecture. We show that the bulk acoustic phonons are interacting with the qubit in a simple design architecture at the quantum level, representing further progress towards the quantum control of mechanical motion.
In recent years, remarkable progress has been made towards encoding and processing quantum information in the large Hilbert space of bosonic modes. Mechanical resonators are of great interest for this purpose, since they confine many high quality factor modes into a small volume and can be easily integrated with many different quantum systems. An important yet challenging task is to create direct interactions between different mechanical modes. Here we demonstrate an in-situ tunable beam-splitter-type interaction between several mechanical modes of a high-overtone bulk acoustic wave resonator. The engineered interaction is mediated by a parametrically driven superconducting transmon qubit, and we show that it can be tailored to couple pairs or triplets of phononic modes. Furthermore, we use this interaction to demonstrate the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect between phonons. Our results lay the foundations for using phononic systems as quantum memories and platforms for quantum simulations.
Acoustic waves are versatile excitations that couple to many different physical systems. They interact with optical fields in optomechanics, with spin defects through strain, and with superconducting circuits via capacitive or piezoelectric mechanisms. This versatility has motivated their use in hybrid quantum systems for quantum transduction, qubit control, and precision sensing, among other applications. In this thesis, the focus is on the optimization of microwave-to-acoustic coupling between superconducting circuits and Lamb modes in suspend thin-film lithium niobate (LiNbO₃). We leverage the strong piezoelectricity of this material to engineer strong interactions.The first part of the work addresses linear transduction. IDTs require impedance matching to operate efficiently, but this generally imposes a trade-off between efficiency and bandwidth. An optimal design can be identified in theory but is difficult to reach with standard microwave engineering. Here, high-impedance SQUID arrays are employed as linear, tunable inductors to realize the necessary impedance transformation. This approach enables transducers that operate close to the efficiency-bandwidth limit imposed by the piezoelectric coupling strength of LiNbO₃. The design strategy is applied to different types of devices: standard bi-directional IDTs, unidirectional IDTs where acoustic mirrors recover backward-emitted waves, and single-mode IDTs where additional transverse confinement produces quasi-one-dimensional propagation. Among these, unidirectional IDTs achieve unprecedented coupling, with efficiency–bandwidth products of ≈440 MHz and peak efficiencies of 62%. By leveraging flux tunability of SQUIDs we get tunable couplers between microwave circuits and Lamb-wave resonators.The second part investigates the nonlinear regime, where transmon qubits are coupled to Lamb-wave resonators. Unlike the high-Q but weakly coupled resonators often used in the literature, LiNbO₃ offers strong piezoelectric interactions that enable access to very strong coupling even without extremely high quality factors.Overall, this thesis establishes efficient linear transducers and explores strong nonlinear interactions, advancing superconducting-acoustic interfaces based on LiNbO₃. These results extend the superconducting circuit toolbox with sensitive acoustic elements and open pathways toward hybrid applications such as microwave-optical transduction, acoustic spectroscopy, and fundamental experiments exploring the interplay of quantum mechanics and gravity.
In recent years, important progress has been made towards encoding and processing quantum information in the large Hilbert space of bosonic modes. Mechanical resonators have several practical advantages for this purpose, because they confine many high-quality-factor modes into a small volume and can be easily integrated with different quantum systems. However, it is challenging to create direct interactions between different mechanical modes that can be used to emulate quantum gates. Here we demonstrate an in situ tunable beamsplitter-type interaction between several mechanical modes of a high-overtone bulk acoustic-wave resonator. The engineered interaction is mediated by a parametrically driven superconducting transmon qubit, and we show that it can be tailored to couple pairs or triplets of phononic modes. Furthermore, we use this interaction to demonstrate the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect between phonons. Our results lay the foundations for using phononic systems as quantum memories and platforms for quantum simulations.