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      A hybrid on-chip opto-nanomechanical transducer for ultra-sensitive force measurements

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          Abstract

          Nanomechanical oscillators have been employed as transducers to measure force, mass and charge with high sensitivity. They are also used in opto- or electromechanical experiments with the goal of quantum control and phenomena of mechanical systems. Here, we report the realization and operation of a hybrid monolithically integrated transducer system consisting of a high-\(Q\) nanomechanical oscillator with modes in the MHz regime coupled to the near-field of a high-\(Q\) optical whispering-gallery-mode microresonator. The transducer system enables a sensitive resolution of the nanomechanical beam's thermal motion with a signal-to-noise of five orders of magnitude and has a force sensitivity of \(74\,\rm{aN}\,\rm{Hz}^{-1/2}\) at room temperature. We show, both theoretically and experimentally, that the sensitivity of continuous incoherent force detection improves only with the fourth root of the averaging time. Using dissipative feedback based on radiation pressure enabled control, we explicitly demonstrate by detecting a weak incoherent force that this constraint can be significantly relaxed. We achieve a more than 30-fold reduction in averaging time with our hybrid transducer and are able to detect an incoherent force having a force spectral density as small as \(15\,\rm{aN}\,\rm{Hz}^{-1/2}\) within \(35\,\rm{s}\) of averaging. This corresponds to a signal which is 25 times smaller than the thermal noise and would otherwise remain out of reach. The reported monolithic platform is an enabling step towards hybrid nanomechanical transducers relying on the light-mechanics interface.

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          Most cited references38

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          Single spin detection by magnetic resonance force microscopy.

          Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is well known as a powerful technique for visualizing subsurface structures with three-dimensional spatial resolution. Pushing the resolution below 1 micro m remains a major challenge, however, owing to the sensitivity limitations of conventional inductive detection techniques. Currently, the smallest volume elements in an image must contain at least 10(12) nuclear spins for MRI-based microscopy, or 10(7) electron spins for electron spin resonance microscopy. Magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) was proposed as a means to improve detection sensitivity to the single-spin level, and thus enable three-dimensional imaging of macromolecules (for example, proteins) with atomic resolution. MRFM has also been proposed as a qubit readout device for spin-based quantum computers. Here we report the detection of an individual electron spin by MRFM. A spatial resolution of 25 nm in one dimension was obtained for an unpaired spin in silicon dioxide. The measured signal is consistent with a model in which the spin is aligned parallel or anti-parallel to the effective field, with a rotating-frame relaxation time of 760 ms. The long relaxation time suggests that the state of an individual spin can be monitored for extended periods of time, even while subjected to a complex set of manipulations that are part of the MRFM measurement protocol.
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            Sub-kelvin optical cooling of a micromechanical resonator.

            Micromechanical resonators, when cooled down to near their ground state, can be used to explore quantum effects such as superposition and entanglement at a macroscopic scale. Previously, it has been proposed to use electronic feedback to cool a high frequency (10 MHz) resonator to near its ground state. In other work, a low frequency resonator was cooled from room temperature to 18 K by passive optical feedback. Additionally, active optical feedback of atomic force microscope cantilevers has been used to modify their response characteristics, and cooling to approximately 2 K has been measured. Here we demonstrate active optical feedback cooling to 135 +/- 15 mK of a micromechanical resonator integrated with a high-quality optical resonator. Additionally, we show that the scheme should be applicable at cryogenic base temperatures, allowing cooling to near the ground state that is required for quantum experiments--near 100 nK for a kHz oscillator.
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              Approaching the quantum limit of a nanomechanical resonator.

              By coupling a single-electron transistor to a high-quality factor, 19.7-megahertz nanomechanical resonator, we demonstrate position detection approaching that set by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle limit. At millikelvin temperatures, position resolution a factor of 4.3 above the quantum limit is achieved and demonstrates the near-ideal performance of the single-electron transistor as a linear amplifier. We have observed the resonator's thermal motion at temperatures as low as 56 millikelvin, with quantum occupation factors of NTH = 58. The implications of this experiment reach from the ultimate limits of force microscopy to qubit readout for quantum information devices.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                04 December 2011
                Article
                10.1038/nnano.2012.97
                1112.0797
                f31acf54-6f6c-491e-b9b1-056d87a46787

                http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/

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                Custom metadata
                12 pages, 5 figures
                physics.optics

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