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arXiv:2604.03441

Microwave-to-optical transduction using magnon-exciton coupling in a layered antiferromagnet

Pratap Chandra Adak, Iris McDaniel, Suvodeep Paul, Caleb Heuvel-Horwitz, Bikash Das, Vitali Kozlov, Kseniia Mosina, Arun Ramanathan, Xavier Roy, Zdeněk Sofer, Tian Zhong, Akashdeep Kamra, Arno Thielens, Andrea Alù, Vinod M. Menon

cond-mat.mtrl-scicond-mat.mes-hallphysics.opticsquant-phSubmitted Apr 3, 2026• Announced Apr 7, 2026
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Abstract

Coherent interfaces between microwave-frequency quantum systems and low-loss optical links are essential for quantum networks. However, existing microwave-optical transducers often trade conversion efficiency against added noise, bandwidth, and device integrability. Here, we demonstrate coherent microwave-to-optical transduction based on magnon-exciton coupling in the layered antiferromagnet CrSBr. Driving the antiferromagnetic resonance with microwave signals imprints coherent modulation on a reflected optical probe, generating optical sidebands that are resonantly enhanced near excitonic transitions. While prior magnon-based approaches to microwave-to-optical transduction have typically relied on intrinsically weak off-resonant magneto-optical effects (e.g., Faraday rotation), our scheme exploits strong light-matter interactions at exciton resonances. Even in a bulk crystal without cavity enhancement, we observe coherent conversion over an intrinsically broadband window of ~ 300 MHz. We further show that multiple exciton-polariton resonances inherit the magnon-coupled response, suggesting a route to broaden the usable optical detuning range and to mitigate optical dissipation. Our results establish magnon-coupled excitons in layered magnets as a scalable platform for broadband microwave-optical interfaces, with pathways to higher cooperativity via reduced magnetic volume and cavity integration.

Comments
19 pages, 4 figures

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Coherent interfaces between microwave-frequency quantum systems and low-loss optical links are essential for quantum networks. However, existing microwave-optical transducers often trade conversion efficiency against added noise, bandwidth, and device integrability. Here, we demonstrate coherent microwave-to-optical transduction based on magnon-exciton coupling in the layered antiferromagnet CrSBr. Driving the antiferromagnetic resonance with microwave signals imprints coherent modulation on a reflected optical probe, generating optical sidebands that are resonantly enhanced near excitonic transitions. While prior magnon-based approaches to microwave-to-optical transduction have typically relied on intrinsically weak off-resonant magneto-optical effects (e.g., Faraday rotation), our scheme exploits strong light-matter interactions at exciton resonances. Even in a bulk crystal without cavity enhancement, we observe coherent conversion over an intrinsically broadband window of ~ 300 MHz. We further show that multiple exciton-polariton resonances inherit the magnon-coupled response, suggesting a route to broaden the usable optical detuning range and to mitigate optical dissipation. Our results establish magnon-coupled excitons in layered magnets as a scalable platform for broadband microwave-optical interfaces, with pathways to higher cooperativity via reduced magnetic volume and cavity integration.
The development of scalable quantum networks requires coherent interfaces capable of converting microwave photons used in superconducting quantum processors into optical photons suitable for long-distance fiber transmission. This review surveys recent progress in microwave-to-optical quantum transduction across optomechanical, electro-optic, and magneto-optic platforms, with emphasis on conversion efficiency, bandwidth, added noise, and operating temperature. In addition to standard metrics, we propose the internal efficiency eta_in and the magnon decay rate kappa_m/2pi as normalized parameters that enable fairer comparison across heterogeneous implementations. Optomechanical systems achieve internal phonon-to-photon efficiencies of 93% with sub-quantum added noise of 0.25 quanta at millikelvin temperatures. Electro-optic devices based on LiNbO3 and AlN have advanced from room-temperature efficiencies below 1% to millikelvin systems with internal efficiencies approaching 99.5%, added noise as low as 0.16 quanta at 60 mK, and bandwidths extending to several tens of megahertz. Magneto-optic (optomagnonic) platforms exhibit the lowest efficiencies (typically 10−1010^{-10}10−10 to 10−8)10^{-8})10−8), but offer intrinsic non-reciprocity and broadband magnonic operation, with emerging approaches based on topological heterostructures and magnon squeezing predicting enhancements up to 10−410^{-4}10−4. Optomechanical systems appear promising for high-fidelity quantum state transfer, electro-optic transducers for high-bandwidth coherent links, and magneto-optic devices for non-reciprocal network components. We discuss the fundamental trade-off between efficiency and added noise across all three platforms, and argue that heterogeneous microwave-optical transduction is emerging as a key enabling technology for distributed quantum computing and large-scale quantum networks.
Microwave-to-optical transducers facilitate the distributed quantum network by combining the high-speed information-processing abilities of superconducting circuits with the long-distance, low-loss transmitting capabilities of optical photons. Besides core metrics such as high efficiency, low noise, and wide bandwidth, practical and scalable transducers also demand a compact footprint and frequency tunability. In this work, we propose an integrated and tunable transducer that combines a coplanar waveguide microwave resonator with a magno-optomechanical microcavity via flip-chip bonding. Benefiting from the broad frequency tunability of the magnon mode, the working frequency range can be tuned over several gigahertz. Through optimization of the geometry and pump powers, our design achieves a theoretical microwave-to-optical photon conversion efficiency exceeding 50% using experimentally achievable parameters, alongside a bandwidth greater than 10 kHz. An added noise near the quantum limit $(\ensuremath{\sim}1)$ is achievable at 10 mK using lower pump powers at the cost of conversion efficiency or a pulsed-pump protocol. By merging compact integration with wide frequency tunability, this platform offers a promising pathway toward scalable quantum networks.
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 the single-photon level.This allows for transduction between microwave and optical photons without coherent optical pump fields to enhance the interaction.With an on-chip device, we demonstrate a sizeable single-photon coupling strength of 16 MHz.Thanks to the fast exciton decay in the QDM, the transduction bandwidth between an optical and microwave resonator photon reaches several 100 s of MHz.We also show that the transduction process via the QDM is fully coherent within the measurement error range.
The quantum transduction, or equivalently quantum frequency conversion, between microwave and optical photons is essential for realizing scalable quantum computers with superconducting qubits. Due to the large frequency difference between microwave and optical ranges, the transduction needs to be done via intermediate bosonic modes or nonlinear processes. Regarding the transduction mediated by magnons, previous studies have so far utilized ferromagnetic magnons in ferromagnets. Here, we formulate a theory for the microwave-to-optical quantum transduction mediated by antiferromagnetic magnons in antiferromagnets. We derive analytical expressions for the transduction efficiency in the cases with and without an optical cavity, where a microwave cavity is used in both cases. In contrast to the case of the quantum transduction using ferromagnets, we find that the quantum transduction can occur even in the absence of an external static magnetic field. We also find that, in the case with an optical cavity the transduction efficiency takes a peak structure with respect to the sample thickness, indicating that there exists an optimal thickness, whereas in the case without an optical cavity the transduction efficiency is a monotonically increasing function of the sample thickness. Our study opens up a way for possible applications of antiferromagnetic materials in future quantum interconnects.
Microwave-to-optical transduction bridges microwave photons used in superconducting quantum circuits and optical photons suitable for long-distance transmission, making it a key enabling technology for distributed quantum networks. Scalable implementation, however, requires device architectures that combine practical conversion performance with low fabrication complexity, whereas many existing approaches rely on heterogeneous material integration. Here, we demonstrate a co-localized microwave-to-optical transducer that integrates electrostatic excitation, mechanical mediation, and optical readout within a single optomechanical cavity. The electrostatic actuator is implemented using only a single metallization layer, reducing device complexity and avoiding the need for separate electromechanical and optomechanical resonators. This compact, fabrication-friendly architecture offers a practical route toward scalable integrated microwave photonics and future chip-scale microwave-to-optical interfaces for hybrid quantum systems.
Abstract 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. We optimize the microwave-optical field overlap and optical coupling losses in the design while achieving long microwave and optical photon lifetime at milli-Kelvin temperatures. This represents a significant enhancement of the transduction efficiency up to 50% under incoming pump power of 140 μW, which allows the conversion of few-photon quantum signals. Furthermore, this scheme exhibits high resolution for optically reading out the dispersive shift induced by a superconducting transmon qubit coupled to the SRF cavity. We also show that low microwave losses enhance the fidelity of heralded entanglement generation between two remote quantum systems. Finally, high precision in quantum sensing can be reached below the standard quantum limit.