Phonons are considered to be universal quantum transducers due to their ability to couple to a wide variety of quantum systems. Among these systems, solid-state point defect spins are known for being ...long-lived optically accessible quantum memories. Recently, it has been shown that inversion-symmetric defects in diamond, such as the negatively charged silicon vacancy center (SiV), feature spin qubits that are highly susceptible to strain. Here, we leverage this strain response to achieve coherent and low-power acoustic control of a single SiV spin, and perform acoustically driven Ramsey interferometry of a single spin. Our results demonstrate an efficient method of spin control for these systems, offering a path towards strong spin-phonon coupling and phonon-mediated hybrid quantum systems.
In this work, 3D graphene structures constructed by graphene foam (GF) were introduced into polyamide-6 (PA6) matrix for the purpose of enhancing the thermal-conductive and anti-dripping properties ...of PA6 composites. The GF were prepared by one-step hydrothermal method. The PA6 composites were synthesized by in-situ thermal polycondensation method to realize PA6 chains covalently grafted onto the graphene sheets. The 3D interconnected graphene structure favored the formation of the consecutive thermal conductive paths or networks even at relatively low graphene loadings. As a result, the thermal conductivity was improved by 300% to 0.847W·m−1·K−1 of PA6 composites at 2.0wt% graphene loading from 0.210W·m−1·K−1 of pure PA6 matrix. The presence of self-supported 3D structure alone with the covalently-grafted PA6 chains endowed the PA6 composites good anti-dripping properties.
Abstract
Acousto-optic devices that use radio frequency mechanical waves to manipulate light are critical components in many optical systems. Here, the researchers bring acousto-optic devices on-chip ...and make them more efficient for integrated photonic circuits.
The law of momentum conservation rules out many desired processes in optical microresonators. We report broadband momentum transformations of light in asymmetric whispering gallery microresonators. ...Assisted by chaotic motions, broadband light can travel between optical modes with different angular momenta within a few picoseconds. Efficient coupling from visible to near-infrared bands is demonstrated between a nanowaveguide and whispering gallery modes with quality factors exceeding 10 million. The broadband momentum transformation enhances the device conversion efficiency of the third-harmonic generation by greater than three orders of magnitude over the conventional evanescent-wave coupling. The observed broadband and fast momentum transformation could promote applications such as multicolor lasers, broadband memories, and multiwavelength optical networks.
Electro-optic phase modulators are critical components in modern communication, microwave photonic, and quantum photonic systems. Important for these applications is to achieve modulators with low ...half-wave voltage at high frequencies. Here, we demonstrate an integrated phase modulator, based on a thin-film lithium niobite platform, which simultaneously features small on-chip loss (~1 dB) and low half-wave voltage over a large spectral range (3.5-4.5 V at 5-40 GHz). By driving the modulator with a strong 30-GHz microwave signal corresponding to around four half-wave voltages, we generate an optical frequency comb consisting of over 40 sidebands spanning 10 nm in the telecom L-band. The high-electro-optic performance combined with the high-RF power-handling ability (3.1 W) of our integrated phase modulator is crucial for future photonics and microwave systems.
Electrically driven acousto-optic devices that provide beam deflection and optical frequency shifting have broad applications from pulse synthesis to heterodyne detection. Commercially available ...acousto-optic modulators are based on bulk materials and consume Watts of radio frequency power. Here, we demonstrate an integrated 3-GHz acousto-optic frequency shifter on thin-film lithium niobate, featuring a carrier suppression over 30 dB. Further, we demonstrate a gigahertz-spaced optical frequency comb featuring more than 200 lines over a 0.6-THz optical bandwidth by recirculating the light in an active frequency shifting loop. Our integrated acousto-optic platform leads to the development of on-chip optical routing, isolation, and microwave signal processing.
A new label‐free sensing mechanism is demonstrated experimentally by monitoring the whispering‐gallery mode broadening in microcavities. It is immune to both noise from the probe laser and ...environmental disturbances, and is able to remove the strict requirement for ultra‐high‐Q mode cavities for sensitive nanoparticle detection. This ability to sense nanoscale objects and biological analytes is particularly crucial for wide applications.
Nuclear spins interact weakly with their environment and therefore exhibit long coherence times. This has led to their use as memory qubits in quantum information platforms, where they are controlled ...via electromagnetic waves. Scaling up such platforms comes with challenges in terms of power efficiency, as well as cross-talk between devices. Here, we demonstrate coherent control of a single nuclear spin using surface acoustic waves. We use mechanically driven Ramsey and spin-echo sequences to show that the nuclear spin retains its excellent coherence properties. We estimate that this approach requires 2–3 orders of magnitude less power than more conventional control methods. Furthermore, this technique is scalable because of the possibility of guiding acoustic waves and reduced cross-talk between different acoustic channels. This work demonstrates the use of mechanical waves for complex quantum control sequences, offers an advantageous alternative to the standard electromagnetic control of nuclear spins, and opens prospects for incorporating nuclear spins in mechanically interfaced hybrid quantum architectures.
We control the electronic structure of the silicon-vacancy (SiV) color-center in diamond by changing its static strain environment with a nano-electro-mechanical system. This allows deterministic and ...local tuning of SiV optical and spin transition frequencies over a wide range, an essential step towards multiqubit networks. In the process, we infer the strain Hamiltonian of the SiV revealing large strain susceptibilities of order 1 PHz/strain for the electronic orbital states. We identify regimes where the spin-orbit interaction results in a large strain susceptibility of order 100 THz/strain for spin transitions, and propose an experiment where the SiV spin is strongly coupled to a nanomechanical resonator.
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