Thermalization of neighboring nanomechanical resonators below 1 mK

TL;DR

This study measures the thermalization and noise spectra of nanomechanical resonators at sub-millikelvin temperatures, revealing thermal decoupling and variability in local temperatures among neighboring drums, impacting coherence efforts.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of neighboring nanomechanical resonators' thermalization below 1 mK, highlighting non-uniform temperatures and TLS damping effects.

Findings

Neighboring drums can be at different temperatures.

Excess damping decreases with temperature.

Thermalization is independent of cryostat parameters.

Abstract

The position noise spectra of six drums on a single chip were measured on a single cooldown below 1.3 kelvin. Cryostat temperatures as low as 0.7 mK were achieved. The temperature dependence of the resonance frequency and linewidth of the drum modes was analyzed in the framework of the tunneling two level system (TLS) model. Departures of the resonance frequency and the position noise power from the expected logarithmic and linear temperature dependences, respectively, were interpreted as indications of thermal decoupling from the cryostat. This previously unexplored measurement configuration revealed that similar neighboring drums on a single chip may be at different temperatures. At the lowest temperatures, some drums exhibited excess damping that decreased with temperature. The magnitude of the excess damping of the drums was correlated with the thermal coupling of their TLS to the cryostat. In the case of one drum, a temporary increase in its damping coincided with a decrease in its mode temperature. The thermalization of the TLS to the cold finger was independent of pump power, pulse tube state and temperature of the pre-cooling stages of the cryostat. These results reveal an interplay between TLS damping and thermalization of nanomechanics that motivates further theoretical work and may impact efforts to extend the coherence of mechanical resonators.