As a novel hybrid quantum system, cavity optomechanical system shows super strong coupling strength, extremely low noise level and considerable coherent time under superconducting condition. In this paper, we briefly introduce basic principles of cavity optomechanics and cavity optomechanical systems. Meanwhile, we also classify the widely studied cavity optomechanical systems as five categories in their materials and structures. Significant parameters of these optomechanical systems, such as quality factor, mass and vibrating frequency of mechanical oscillator, are listed in detail. Technical merits and defects of these optomechanical systems are summarized. Furthermore, we introduce the research progress of non-classical microwave quantum states preparation by utilizing generalized cavity optomechanical systems, and we also analyze the performance advancements and remaining problems of this preparation method. In the end, we summarize the application cases at present and look forward to the potential application scenarios in the future. Our summary may be helpful for researchers who are focusing on quantum applications in sensing, radar, navigation, and communication in microwave domain.
As a novel hybrid quantum system, cavity optomechanical system shows super strong coupling strength, extremely low noise level and considerable coherent time under superconducting condition. In this paper, we briefly introduce basic principles of cavity optomechanics and cavity optomechanical systems. Meanwhile, we also classify the widely studied cavity optomechanical systems as five categories in their materials and structures. Significant parameters of these optomechanical systems, such as quality factor, mass and vibrating frequency of mechanical oscillator, are listed in detail. Technical merits and defects of these optomechanical systems are summarized. Furthermore, we introduce the research progress of non-classical microwave quantum states preparation by utilizing generalized cavity optomechanical systems, and we also analyze the performance advancements and remaining problems of this preparation method. In the end, we summarize the application cases at present and look forward to the potential application scenarios in the future. Our summary may be helpful for researchers who are focusing on quantum applications in sensing, radar, navigation, and communication in microwave domain.
Based on the characteristics of superposition, entanglement, non-locality and non-clonality of quantum mechanics, quantum information science can break through the physical limits of classical information and open up a new information processing function different from classical electromagnetic application methods. Due to the advantages of high-energy single photon in practical applications, the research and application of optical quantum information technology dominates the development of current quantum information technology. However, the free-space transmission of light waves is greatly affected by weather conditions and atmospheric particles. Comparing with other wave bands, classical microwave signal shows good penetration ability when transmitting in free space. By introducing quantum mechanics, microwave signal also exhibits non-classical merits. As quantum microwave signal inherits both classical transmission performance and quantum non-classical features, it can be utilized as a significant signal source for diverse applications in microwave domain, such as quantum communication, quantum navigation and quantum radar, which are based on quantum technologies in large scale and dynamic free space transmission. There are three main experimental platforms on which quantum microwave is studied and produced. They are cavity quantum electrodynamics(C-QED) system, circuit quantum electrodynamics(c-QED) system, and cavity electro-opto-mechanical(EOM) system, involving with several nonlinear effects such as Kerr effect, Casimir effect, three-wave mixing, etc. In this paper, the setups of these platforms and the preparation principles are introduced. Meanwhile, the preparation principles and methods of microwave single photon, entangled microwave photons, squeezed microwave fields and entangled microwave fields are summarized and analyzed in detail from three aspects. The present status of experimental progress in the relevant fields are summarized and listed as well. Besides, key problems in the application of quantum navigation in free space utilizing quantum microwave are probed. Among them, the most pressing ones are preparation ability, decoherence in transmission and detection of entangled quantum microwave signals, which are also discussed and analyzed in this paper. Finally, we look forward to the future development of quantum microwave technology. It mainly consists of manufacturing microwave detectors with high efficiency, designing thermal photon filters, and developing suitable antennas. We hope that this study can provide useful reference for scholars who are engaged in or interested in research related to quantum microwave technologies.
Cavity optomechanics represents a frontier research direction in quantum science and technology, centered on the control and exploration of interactions between electromagnetic fields and mechanical motion. Rooted in quantum mechanics, this field realizes efficient coupling and precise manipulation of optical fields and mechanical vibrations through the structural design and precise regulation of optical microcavities and mechanical oscillators, thereby revealing and harnessing novel quantum phenomena. In recent years, cavity optomechanics has evolved into an interdisciplinary frontier integrating quantum optics, condensed matter physics, and quantum precision measurement, exhibiting profound application in both fundamental physics research and quantum information science. With advancements in technologies such as nanomanufacturing and laser cooling, optomechanical interactions have been successfully demonstrated in various experimental systems. Among these platforms, cavity cold-atom systems stand out as one of the ideal platforms for implementing quantum optomechanics. Featuring exceptional environmental isolation, long quantum coherence times, and strong light-matter interaction, these systems provide a crucial testbed for exploring strong and even ultrastrong optomechanical coupling effects as well as rich nonlinear quantum phenomena. This paper reviews the recent progress in optomechanical control and manipulation based on cavity cold-atom systems. We first outline the fundamental principles of standard cavity optomechanical systems. Then, we describe the experimental realization of linear and nonlinear optomechanical couplings in cold-atom systems. After that, we focus on the representative applications of this platform in high-precision quantum sensing, quantum memory, and the preparation of macroscopic nonclassical states. Finally, we give an outlook and challenges in this field.
Cavity optomechanics originated from the research of interferometric detection of gravitational waves, and later became a fast-growing area of techniques and approaches ranging from the fields of atomic, molecular, and optical physics to nano-science and condensed matter physics as well. Recently, it focused on the exploration of operating mechanical oscillators deep in the quantum regime, with an interest ranging from quantum-classical interface tests to high-precision quantum metrology. In this paper, recent theoretical work of our group in the field of quantum measurement with cavity optomechanical systems is reviewed. We explore the quantum measurement theory and its applications with several unconventional cavity optomechanical schemes working in the quantum regime. This review covers the basics of quantum noises in the cavity optomechanical setups and the resulting standard quantum limit of precision displacement and force measurement. Three novel quantum measurement proposals based on the hybrid optomechanical system are introduced. First, we describe a quantum back-action insulated weak force sensor. It is realized by forming a quantum-mechanics-free subsystem with two optomechanical oscillators of reversed effective mass. Then we introduce a role-reversed atomic optomechanical system which enables the preparation and the quantum tomography of a variety of non-classical states of atoms. In this system, the cavity field acts as a mechanical oscillator driven by the radiation pressure force from an ultracold atomic field. In the end, we recommend a multimode optomechanical transducer that can detect intensities significantly below the single-photon level via adiabatic transfer of the microwave signal to the optical frequency domain. These proposals demonstrate the possible applications of optomechanical devices in understanding of quantum-classical crossover and in achieving quantum measurement limit.
Quantum sensing, leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics, has revolutionized the field of precision measurement by achieving sensitivities beyond the classical limits. Among the various platforms for quantum sensing, cavity optomechanics has emerged as a particularly promising field. It studies the interaction between light and mechanical resonators within high-Q optical cavities, providing unique opportunities for enhancing measurement precision and sensitivity in quantum sensing. With advancements in technology, the range of applications for cavity optomechanics in quantum sensing is expanding rapidly. Particularly, the integration of optoelectronic technologies and miniaturization techniques holds promise for the development of more compact, efficient, and scalable quantum sensors. Quantum sensing with cavity optomechanics has been extensively studied and has progressed enormously over the past decades. This paper provides a systematic review of research on quantum sensing with cavity optomechanics, starting from the fundamental principles of optomechanical coupling, to the achievement of quantum ground-state cooling of mechanical oscillators and the preparation of basic quantum states, and then to the mechanisms of quantum sensing based on cavity optomechanics. Furthermore, we survey recent advancements in quantum sensing utilizing cavity optomechanics, including the enhancement of optomechanical sensing through the use of entanglement, squeezing, and quantum exceptional points. Finally, perspectives and opportunities for future developments of this field are provided.
Abstract Hybrid quantum systems based on magnons in magnetic materials have made significant progress in the past decade. They are built based on the couplings of magnons with microwave photons, optical photons, vibration phonons, and superconducting qubits. In particular, the interactions among magnons, microwave cavity photons, and vibration phonons form the system of cavity magnomechanics (CMM), which lies in the interdisciplinary field of cavity QED, magnonics, quantum optics, and quantum information. Here, we review the experimental and theoretical progress of this emerging field. We first introduce the underlying theories of the magnomechanical coupling, and then some representative classical phenomena that have been experimentally observed, including magnomechanically induced transparency, magnomechanical dynamical backaction, magnon-phonon cross-Kerr nonlinearity, etc. We also discuss a number of theoretical proposals, which show the potential of the CMM system for preparing different kinds of quantum states of magnons, phonons, and photons, and hybrid systems combining magnomechanics and optomechanics and relevant quantum protocols based on them. Finally, we summarize this review and provide an outlook for the future research directions in this field.
Harmonic oscillators might be one of the most fundamental entities described by physics. Yet they stay relevant in recent research. The topological properties associated with exceptional points that can occur when two modes interact have generated much interest in recent years. Harmonic oscillators are also at the heart of new quantum technological applications: the long lifetime of high-Q resonators make them advantageous as quantum memories, and they are employed for narrowband processing of quantum signals, as in Josephson parametric amplifiers. The goal of this thesis is to explore different fundamental regimes of two coupled harmonic oscillators using cavity optomechanics as the experimen- tal platform. With consistent progress in attaining ever increasing Q factors, mechanical and electromagnetic resonators realize near-ideal harmonic oscillators. By parametrically modulating the nonlinear optomechanical interaction between them, an effective linear coupling is achieved, which is tunable in strength and in the relative frequencies of the two modes. Thus cavity optomechanics provides a framework with excellent control over system parameters for the study of two coupled harmonic modes. The specific optomechanical implementation employed are superconducting circuits with the vibrating top plate of a capacitor as the mechanical element. Multimode optomechanical circuits are realized, with two microwave modes interacting with one or two mechanical oscillators. The supplementary modes serve either as intermediaries in the relation of the two modes of interest, or as auxiliaries used to control a parameter of the system. Three main experimental results are achieved. First, an auxiliary microwave mode allows the engineering of the effective dissipation rate of a mechanical oscillator. The latter then acts as a reservoir for the main microwave mode with which it interacts. The microwave mode susceptibility can be tuned, resulting in an instability akin to that of a maser and in resonant amplification of incoming microwave signals with an added noise close to the quantum minimum. Second, we study the conditions for a nonreciprocal interaction between two microwave modes, when the information flows in one direction but not in the other. The two modes interact through two mechanical oscillators, leading to frequency conversion between the two cavities. Dissipation in the mechanical modes is essential to the scheme in two ways: it provides a reciprocal phase necessary for the interference and eliminates the unwanted signals. Third, level attraction between a microwave and a mechanical mode is demonstrated, where the eigenfrequencies of the system are drawn closer as the result of interaction, rather distancing themselves as in the more usual case of level repulsion. The phenomenon is theoretically connected to exceptional points, and a general classification of the possible regimes of interaction between two harmonic modes is exposed, including level repulsion and attraction as special cases.