Mechanically mediated microwave frequency conversion in the quantum regime

Abstract

We report the observation of efficient and low-noise frequency conversion between two microwave modes, mediated by the motion of a mechanical resonator subjected to radiation pressure. We achieve coherent conversion of more than $10^{12}~\mathrm{photons/s}$ with a $95\mathrm{\%}$ efficiency and a $14~\mathrm{kHz}$ bandwidth. With less than $10^{-1}~\mathrm{photons \cdot s^{-1}\cdot Hz^{-1}}$ of added noise, this optomechanical frequency converter is suitable for quantum state transduction. We show the ability to operate this converter as a tunable beam splitter, with direct applications for photon routing and communication through complex quantum networks.