How to build an efficient microwave-to-optical converter - Marcelo Wu

Superconducting qubits excel at local manipulation of quantum information. On the other hand, photonic technologies that gave us high speed fiber internet are the backbone of long-distance telecommunication. The confluence of the two spurred the recent interest in microwave-to-optical frequency converters that can efficiently and quietly transduce microwave photons from a qubit to an optical photon propagating in optical fibers and vice versa. We propose a novel approach for a converter that relies on the coupling of electrical, piezoelectric, and optomechanical resonators. We analyze the converter through the language of electrical circuits that relates device-level parameters to the overall efficiency and added noise. We then demonstrate how to design and build a converter in gallium arsenide particularly while extending our analysis to other material platforms. We will show recent progress and challenges in fabricating these transducer devices on a chip.