An integrated microwave-to-optics interface for scalable quantum computing

  1. Matthew J. Weaver,
  2. Pim Duivestein,
  3. Alexandra C. Bernasconi,
  4. Selim Scharmer,
  5. Mathilde Lemang,
  6. Thierry C. van Thiel,
  7. Frederick Hijazi,
  8. Bas Hensen,
  9. Simon Gröblacher,
  10. and Robert Stockill
Microwave-to-optics transduction is emerging as a vital technology for scaling quantum computers and quantum networks. To establish useful entanglement links between qubit processing
units, several key conditions have to be simultaneously met: the transducer must add less than a single quantum of input referred noise and operate with high-efficiency, as well as large bandwidth and high repetition rate. Here we present a new design for an integrated transducer based on a planar superconducting resonator coupled to a silicon photonic cavity through a mechanical oscillator made of lithium niobate on silicon. We experimentally demonstrate its unique performance and potential for simultaneously realizing all of the above conditions, measuring added noise that is limited to a few photons, transduction efficiencies as high as 0.9%, with a bandwidth of 14.8 MHz and a repetition rate of up to 100 kHz. Our device couples directly to a 50-Ohm transmission line and can easily be scaled to a large number of transducers on a single chip, paving the way for distributed quantum computing.

Microwave-to-optics conversion using a mechanical oscillator in its quantum groundstate

  1. Moritz Forsch,
  2. Robert Stockill,
  3. Andreas Wallucks,
  4. Igor Marinkovic,
  5. Claus Gärtner,
  6. Richard A. Norte,
  7. Frank van Otten,
  8. Andrea Fiore,
  9. Kartik Srinivasan,
  10. and Simon Gröblacher
Conversion between signals in the microwave and optical domains is of great interest both for classical telecommunication, as well as for connecting future superconducting quantum computers
into a global quantum network. For quantum applications, the conversion has to be both efficient, as well as operate in a regime of minimal added classical noise. While efficient conversion has been demonstrated with several approaches using mechanical transducers, they have so far all operated with a substantial thermal noise background. Here, we overcome this limitation and demonstrate coherent conversion between GHz microwave signals and the optical telecom band with a thermal background of less than one phonon. We use an electro-opto-mechanical device, that couples surface acoustic waves driven by a resonant microwave signal to an optomechanical crystal featuring a 2.7 GHz mechanical mode. By operating at Millikelvin temperatures, we can initialize the mechanical mode in its quantum groundstate, which allows us to perform the transduction process with less than one quantum of added thermal noise. We further verify the preservation of the coherence of the microwave signal throughout the transduction process.