High-speed quantum transducer with a single-photon emitter in a 2D resonator

TL;DR

This paper proposes a high-speed quantum transducer using a single-photon emitter in a 2D resonator, enabling efficient microwave-optical photon conversion for quantum networks.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 2D resonator-based transducer that achieves strong coupling regimes for microwave and optical photons via mechanical vibrations.

Findings

Achieves strong optomechanical and electromechanical coupling.

Enables high-speed quantum state transfer.

Utilizes atomically thin membrane resonator for efficient conversion.

Abstract

Quantum transducers can transfer quantum information between different systems. Microwave-optical photon conversion is important for future quantum networks to interconnect remote superconducting quantum computers with optical fibers. Here we propose a high-speed quantum transducer based on a single-photon emitter in an atomically thin membrane resonator that can couple single microwave photons to single optical photons. The 2D resonator is a freestanding van der Waals heterostructure (may consist of hexagonal boron nitride, graphene, or other 2D materials) that hosts a quantum emitter. The mechanical vibration (phonon) of the 2D resonator interacts with optical photons by shifting the optical transition frequency of the single-photon emitter with strain or the Stark effect. The mechanical vibration couples to microwave photons by shifting the resonant frequency of a LC circuit that includes the membrane. Thanks to the small mass of the 2D resonator, both the single-photon optomechanical coupling strength and the electromechanical coupling strength can reach strong coupling regimes. This provides a way for high-speed quantum state transfer between a microwave photon, a phonon, and an optical photon.