ABSTRACT
We demonstrate an acoustical analog of a circuit quantum electrodynamics system that leverages acoustic properties to enable strong multimode coupling in the dispersive regime while suppressing spontaneous emission to unconfined modes. Specifically, we fabricate and characterize a device that comprises a flux tunable transmon coupled to a 300 µm long surface acoustic wave resonator. For some modes, the qubit-cavity coupling reaches 6.5 MHz, exceeding the cavity loss rate (200 kHz), qubit linewidth (1.1 MHz), and the cavity free spectral range (4.8 MHz), placing the device in both the strong coupling and strong multimode regimes. With the qubit detuned from the confined modes of the cavity, we observe that the qubit linewidth strongly depends on its frequency, as expected for spontaneous emission of phonons, and we identify operating frequencies where this emission rate is suppressed.
ABSTRACT
Circuit QED techniques have been instrumental in manipulating and probing with exquisite sensitivity the quantum state of superconducting quantum bits coupled to microwave cavities. Recently, it has become possible to fabricate new devices in which the superconducting quantum bits are replaced by hybrid mesoscopic circuits combining nanoconductors and metallic reservoirs. This mesoscopic QED provides a new experimental playground to study the light-matter interaction in electronic circuits. Here, we present the experimental state of the art of mesoscopic QED and its theoretical description. A first class of experiments focuses on the artificial atom limit, where some quasiparticles are trapped in nanocircuit bound states. In this limit, the circuit QED techniques can be used to manipulate and probe electronic degrees of freedom such as confined charges, spins, or Andreev pairs. A second class of experiments uses cavity photons to reveal the dynamics of electron tunneling between a nanoconductor and fermionic reservoirs. For instance, the Kondo effect, the charge relaxation caused by grounded metallic contacts, and the photo-emission caused by voltage-biased reservoirs have been studied. The tunnel coupling between nanoconductors and fermionic reservoirs also enable one to obtain split Cooper pairs, or Majorana bound states. Cavity photons represent a qualitatively new tool to study these exotic condensed matter states.
