Mechanical on-chip microwave circulator

Abstract

Nonreciprocal circuit elements form an integral part of modern measurement and communication systems. Mathematically they require breaking of time-reversal symmetry, typically achieved using magnetic materials and more recently using the quantum Hall effect, parametric permittivity modulation or Josephson nonlinearities. Here we demonstrate an on-chip magnetic-free circulator based on reservoir-engineered electromechanic interactions. Directional circulation is achieved with controlled phase-sensitive interference of six distinct electro-mechanical signal conversion paths. The presented circulator is compact, its silicon-on-insulator platform is compatible with both superconducting qubits and silicon photonics, and its noise performance is close to the quantum limit. With a high dynamic range, a tunable bandwidth of up to 30 MHz and an in situ reconfigurability as beam splitter or wavelength converter, it could pave the way for superconducting qubit processors with multiplexed on-chip signal processing and readout.

Breaking Lorentz Reciprocity with Frequency Conversion and Delay

“…Many active circuits realize non-reciprocity with parametric coupling between resonant modes [21,[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. The parametric interaction creates a frequency conversion process, illustrated in Fig.…”

“…For instance, ferrite circulators cannot be integrated with superconducting qubits and circuits, and Faraday isolators cannot be miniaturized for integration with onchip photonics. A broad experimental effort has therefore emerged to develop alternative non-reciprocal devices, including approaches based on: nonlinear materials [4,5], quantum Hall physics [6][7][8][9], and active modulation [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22].Many active circuits realize non-reciprocity with parametric coupling between resonant modes [21,[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. The parametric interaction creates a frequency conversion process, illustrated in Fig.…”

Nonlinear dynamics of weakly dissipative optomechanical systems

“…For an extended review we refer the reader to [1]. In the past few years, a range of impressive achievements has been observed, which includes topological transport in optomechanical arrays [4,5], the engineering of nonreciprocal interactions [6][7][8][9][10][11], the generation of single phonon states using optical control [12], the generation of mechanical squeezed states [13], measurement-based quantum control of mechanical motion [14], conversion of quantum information to mechanical motion [15], conversion between light in the microwave and optical range [16], single photon frequency shifters [17], force measurements using cold-atom optomechanics [18], and the use of unconventional mechanical modes, like high frequency bulk modes of crystals [19], multilayer graphene [20], and the modes of superfluid helium [21].…”

Widely Tunable On-Chip Microwave Circulator for Superconducting Quantum Circuits

“…Such a strategy for suppressing the creation of spurious sidebands, which we refer to as "coherent cancellation," may be contrasted with that used in nonreciprocal devices that operate with the parametric coupling of resonant modes in the resolved-sideband limit [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. In that scheme, parametric modulation of a resonant system creates sidebands at the parametric drive frequency, and a second resonant mode is used to enhance the density of states at the desired frequency, while simultaneously diminishing it at the undesired frequency.…”

“…Hall effect [12][13][14] and active devices [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. All of these approaches are chip based or can be adapted for chipbased implementations.…”