Integrated sub-terahertz cavity electro-optic transduction

Abstract

Emerging communications and computing technologies will rely ever-more on expanding the useful radio frequency (RF) spectrum into the sub-THz and THz frequency range. Both classical and quantum applications would benefit from advancing integration and incorporation of sub-THz and electro-optic technologies into common devices, such as modulators. Here we demonstrate an integrated triply-resonant, superconducting electro-optic transducer. Our design incorporates an on-chip $107$ GHz sub-THz niobium titanium nitride superconducting resonator, modulating a thin-film lithium niobate optical racetrack resonator operating at telecom wavelengths. We observe a maximum photon transduction efficiency of $\eta_{\text{OE}}\approx 0.82\times 10^{-6}$ and an average single-photon electro-optic interaction rate of $g_0/2\pi\approx 0.7$ kHz. We also present a study and analysis of the challenges associated with the design of integrated sub-THz resonators and propose possible solutions to these challenges. Our work paves the way for further advancements in resonant electro-optic technologies operating at sub-THz frequencies.