NIST physicists have developed a new electromechanical circuit that demonstrates the strongest interaction between microwaves and a vibrating mechanical component, setting a new record. The microscopic “micro drum” is 100 nanometers thick and 15 micrometers wide, allowing for strong coupling between microwave light and mechanical vibrations. The NIST device achieves 1,000 times stronger coupling than previous experiments, with mechanical vibrations lasting hundreds of microseconds.
The NIST drum is a key component in their efforts to develop superconducting quantum computers and quantum simulations. The strong coupling and low energy losses in the new circuit could enable entanglement between microwave photons and mechanical motion, a crucial step in quantum computing. The experiment is a prelude to cooling the drum to its ground state, which would allow for precise measurements of mechanical motion and manipulation of large objects on quantum scales.
The drum has potential applications in measuring length and force at extremely small scales, with sensitivities at the attometer and attonewton levels. NIST scientists plan to combine the new circuit with superconducting quantum bits to create and manipulate motion of relatively large objects on the smallest (quantum) scales.
Keywords: Quantum, Electromechanical, Microwave, Entanglement, Motion, Capacitance
