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New Journal of Physics

Quantum electromechanics: qubits from buckling nanobars

Sergey E. Savel'ev, Xuedong Hu, Franco Nori

Published Jun 19, 2006• 40 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We propose a mechanical qubit based on buckling nanobars—a nano-electromechanical system so small as to be quantum coherent. To establish buckling nanobars as legitimate candidates for qubits, we calculate the effective buckling potential that produces the two-level system and identify the tunnel coupling between the two local states. We propose different designs of nanomechanical qubits and describe how they can be manipulated. Also we outline possible decoherence channels and detection schemes. A comparison between the well-studied charge and flux superconducting qubits suggests several experimental setups which could be realized using available technology.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/8/6/105

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We propose a mechanical qubit based on buckling nanobars—a nano-electromechanical system so small as to be quantum coherent. To establish buckling nanobars as legitimate candidates for qubits, we calculate the effective buckling potential that produces the two-level system and identify the tunnel coupling between the two local states. We propose different designs of nanomechanical qubits and describe how they can be manipulated. Also we outline possible decoherence channels and detection schemes. A comparison between the well-studied charge and flux superconducting qubits suggests several experimental setups which could be realized using available technology.
We propose a mechanical qubit based on buckling nanobars--a NEMS so small as to be quantum coherent.To establish buckling nanobars as legitimate candidates for qubits, we calculate the effective buckling potential that produces the two-level system and identify the tunnel coupling between the two local states. We propose different designs of nanomechanical qubits and describe how they can be manipulated. Also we outline possible decoherence channels and detection schemes. A comparison between the well studied charge and flux superconducting qubits suggests several experimental setups which could be realized using available technology.
Analyzing recent experimental results [Reulet et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2829 (2000); Izmalkov et al., Europhys. Lett. 65, 844 (2004)], we find strikingly similar behaviors between two very different systems: three-junction superconducting qubits and suspended carbon nanotubes. When these different systems are ac-driven near their resonances, the resonance single-peak, observed at weak driving amplitudes, splits into two subpeaks for strong driving amplitudes. We describe this unusual behavior by considering quantum tunneling in a double well potential. Inspired by these experiments, we propose a mechanical qubit based on buckling nanoscale bars (nanobars)---a nanoelectromechanical system so small as to be quantum coherent. We consider how this nanomechanical qubit can be manipulated. A comparison between nanobars and superconducting qubits suggests several future experiments on quantum electromechanics.
We describe a possible implementation of the nanomechanical quantum superposition generation and detection scheme described in the preceding, companion paper (Armour A D and Blencowe M P 2008 New. J. Phys. 10 095004). The implementation is based on the circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) set-up, with the addition of a mechanical degree of freedom formed out of a suspended, doubly-clamped segment of the superconducting loop of a dc SQUID located directly opposite the centre conductor of a coplanar waveguide (CPW). The relative merits of two SQUID based qubit realizations are addressed, in particular a capacitively coupled charge qubit and inductively coupled flux qubit. It is found that both realizations are equally promising, with comparable qubit–mechanical resonator mode as well as qubit–microwave resonator mode coupling strengths.
Superconducting fluxonium qubits show a highly tunable energy-level structure, with transition frequencies spanning from a few MHz to few GHz. This range is well-aligned to the operational frequencies of highly coherent micro- and nano-mechanical resonators, making fluxonium an attractive candidate for hybrid electromechanical systems. In this work, we theoretically investigate a flux-tunable electromechanical system consisting of a fluxonium qubit coupled to a suspended mechanical resonator. The coupling arises from the motion-induced modulation of magnetic flux through the fluxonium loop, enabling both transverse and longitudinal electromechanical interactions that are tunable via external magnetic fields. By optimizing the design parameters of the fluxonium qubit, we demonstrate the feasibility of achieving strong resonant single-photon coupling near the flux-frustration point. We analyze the system dynamics across different coupling regimes, identifying signatures of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in the longitudinal regime and mode splitting in the transverse regime. Additionally, we show that ground-state preparation of both subsystems is possible through sideband cooling of the mechanical resonator. These results suggest that a fluxonium-based hybrid electromechanical device could be a promising platform for studying macroscopic quantum phenomena and for applications in quantum technology.
Superconducting qubits, realized by incorporating Josephson junctions into superconducting circuits, behave as artificial atoms with anharmonic energy spectra and can be precisely controlled and measured using microwave cavities within the framework of circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED). Since its emergence in the early 2000s, cQED has established superconducting qubits as leading candidates for scalable quantum devices and has enabled the exploration of hybrid quantum systems that integrate disparate physical platformsThis review surveys superconducting hybrid quantum electromechanical systems in which mechanical resonators are coupled to superconducting qubits, with a focus on two widely used qubit platforms: the transmon and the fluxonium. We provide an overview of the underlying coupling mechanisms arising from interactions through the phase and charge degrees of freedom of the qubit, and discuss how these mechanisms give rise to both longitudinal and transverse qubit-mechanical interactions. We further review extensions of electromechanical platforms to electro-optomechanical architectures, in which optical cavities are integrated to enable coherent interfacing between superconducting circuits and optical photons. This review aims to present a unified framework and perspective on qubit-mechanical and qubit-mechanical-optical hybrid systems in superconducting quantum technologies and applications related to sensors.
We suggest a nanoelectromechanical setup for designing a quantum-nanomechanical motion of a charge qubit in two-dimensional space. The quantum character of such motion comes through the fact that states of the qubit are entangled with nanomechanical cat states. The setup is based on mesoscopic terminal utilizing the ac Josephson effect between voltage-biased superconducting electrodes and mesoscopic superconducting grain—the charge qubit, vibrating in plane fixed on a nanomechanical cantilever. Required functionality is achieved by operating two external parameters: bias voltage between superconducting electrodes and controlling voltage applied over the gate electrodes. While the resonant tunneling of Cooper pairs between the superconductors and charge qubit builds nanomechanical coherent states comprising the cat state, gate voltage has a specific role of tuning their two-dimensional character in the form of the in-plane linear motion under the voltage-controlled direction. Controlling the spatial motion of a charge qubit opens a possibility of quantum communication between different terminals located in space. Directional control of nanomechanical motion entangled with charge qubit states we call the “quantum switch”.