Surface acoustic wave resonators in the quantum regime

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are mechanical modes confined to the surface of a piezoelectric crystal that can be excited and detected by electric circuits. These mechanical waves can be trapped between two reflectors producing a SAW resonator. In this talk, I will present an experimental study of SAW resonators at 10 mK [1], in which we find that internal quality factors $Q_{\mathrm{i}}$ approaching 0.5 million can be reached at 0.5 GHz and that $Q_{\mathrm{i}} > 10^{4}$ is achievable above 4 GHz, making SAW resonators promising devices for integration into quantum circuits. I will discuss the loss mechanisms that may be currently limiting these Q-factors, and report on our progress towards coupling these mechanical resonators to superconducting qubits. [1] R. Manenti et al., arXiv:1510.04965