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All Publications

  • Surface modification and coherence in lithium niobate SAW resonators. Scientific reports Gruenke, R. G., Hitchcock, O. A., Wollack, E. A., Sarabalis, C. J., Jankowski, M., McKenna, T. P., Lee, N. R., Safavi-Naeini, A. H. 2024; 14 (1): 6663

    Abstract

    Lithium niobate is a promising material for developing quantum acoustic technologies due to its strong piezoelectric effect and availability in the form of crystalline thin films of high quality. However, at radio frequencies and cryogenic temperatures, these resonators are limited by the presence of decoherence and dephasing due to two-level systems. To mitigate these losses and increase device performance, a more detailed picture of the microscopic nature of these loss channels is needed. In this study, we fabricate several lithium niobate acoustic wave resonators and apply different processing steps that modify their surfaces. These treatments include argon ion sputtering, annealing, and acid cleans. We characterize the effects of these treatments using three surface-sensitive measurements: cryogenic microwave spectroscopy measuring density and coupling of TLS to mechanics, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. We learn from these studies that, surprisingly, increases of TLS density may accompany apparent improvements in the surface quality as probed by the latter two approaches. Our work outlines the importance that surfaces and fabrication techniques play in altering acoustic resonator coherence, and suggests gaps in our understanding as well as approaches to address them.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41598-024-57168-x

    View details for PubMedID 38509245

  • Strong Dispersive Coupling Between a Mechanical Resonator and a Fluxonium Superconducting Qubit PRX QUANTUM Lee, N. A., Guo, Y., Cleland, A. Y., Wollack, E., Gruenke, R. G., Makihara, T., Wang, Z., Rajabzadeh, T., Jiang, W., Mayor, F. M., Arrangoiz-Arriola, P., Sarabalis, C. J., Safavi-Naeini, A. H. 2023; 4 (4)

    View details for DOI 10.1103/PRXQuantum.4.040342

    View details for Web of Science ID 001128802400001

  • Identifying the Microscopic Nature of Two Level System Loss Channels in Acoustic Devices Using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. Microscopy and microanalysis : the official journal of Microscopy Society of America, Microbeam Analysis Society, Microscopical Society of Canada Gruenke, R., Multani, G., Hitchcock, O., Wollack, E. A., Szakiel, E., Sarabalis, C., Lee, N., Cleland, A., Safavi-Naeini, A. 2023; 29 (Supplement_1): 776

    View details for DOI 10.1093/micmic/ozad067.384

    View details for PubMedID 37613561

  • Quantum state preparation and tomography of entangled mechanical resonators. Nature Wollack, E. A., Cleland, A. Y., Gruenke, R. G., Wang, Z., Arrangoiz-Arriola, P., Safavi-Naeini, A. H. 2022; 604 (7906): 463-467

    Abstract

    Precisely engineered mechanical oscillators keep time, filter signals and sense motion, making them an indispensable part of the technological landscape of today. These unique capabilities motivate bringing mechanical devices into the quantum domain by interfacing them with engineered quantum circuits. Proposals to combine microwave-frequency mechanical resonators with superconducting devices suggest the possibility of powerful quantum acoustic processors1-3. Meanwhile, experiments in several mechanical systems have demonstrated quantum state control and readout4,5, phonon number resolution6,7 and phonon-mediated qubit-qubit interactions8,9. At present, these acoustic platforms lack processors capable of controlling the quantum states of several mechanical oscillators with a single qubit and the rapid quantum non-demolition measurements of mechanical states needed for error correction. Here we use a superconducting qubit to control and read out the quantum state of a pair of nanomechanical resonators. Our device is capable of fast qubit-mechanics swap operations, which we use to deterministically manipulate the mechanical states. By placing the qubit into the strong dispersive regime with both mechanical resonators simultaneously, we determine the phonon number distributions of the resonators by means of Ramsey measurements. Finally, we present quantum tomography of the prepared nonclassical and entangled mechanical states. Our result represents a concrete step towards feedback-based operation of a quantum acoustic processor.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41586-022-04500-y

    View details for PubMedID 35444325

  • Loss channels affecting lithium niobate phononic crystal resonators at cryogenic temperature APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS Wollack, E., Cleland, A. Y., Arrangoiz-Arriola, P., McKenna, T. P., Gruenke, R. G., Patel, R. N., Jiang, W., Sarabalis, C. J., Safavi-Naeini, A. H. 2021; 118 (12)

    View details for DOI 10.1063/5.0034909

    View details for Web of Science ID 000632733300001