Quantum optomechanical control of long-lived bulk acoustic phonons

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates quantum control and laser cooling of high-coherence bulk acoustic phonons in microfabricated resonators, achieving ground-state cooling of massive mechanical objects and showing resilience against heating, advancing quantum optomechanics.

Contribution

First demonstration of quantum optomechanical control of high-coherence bulk acoustic phonons in microfabricated resonators with ground-state cooling of massive objects.

Findings

Laser cooling of 12.6 GHz phonons from 22 to <0.4 phonons.

No absorption-induced heating observed in μHBARs.

Potential for robust quantum optomechanical systems.

Abstract

High-fidelity quantum optomechanical control of a mechanical oscillator requires the ability to perform efficient, low-noise operations on long-lived phononic excitations. Microfabricated high-overtone bulk acoustic wave resonators ($\mathrm{\mu}$HBARs) have been shown to support high-frequency (> 10 GHz) mechanical modes with exceptionally long coherence times (> 1.5 ms), making them a compelling resource for quantum optomechanical experiments. In this paper, we demonstrate a new optomechanical system that permits quantum optomechanical control of individual high-coherence phonon modes supported by such $\mathrm{\mu}$HBARs for the first time. We use this system to perform laser cooling of such ultra-massive (7.5 $\mathrm{\mu}$g) high frequency (12.6 GHz) phonon modes from an occupation of ${\sim}$22 to fewer than 0.4 phonons, corresponding to laser-based ground-state cooling of the most massive mechanical object to date. Through these laser cooling experiments, no absorption-induced heating is observed, demonstrating the resilience of the $\mathrm{\mu}$HBAR against parasitic heating. The unique features of such $\mathrm{\mu}$HBARs make them promising as the basis for a new class of quantum optomechanical systems that offer enhanced robustness to decoherence, necessary for efficient, low-noise photon-phonon conversion.