Quantum-enabled continuous microwave-to-optics frequency conversion

Microwave-optical transducers are critical elements for networking remote superconducting qubits. These applications require efficient transducers that operate in the quantum-enabled regime, where the conversion process adds less than one photon of noise. In this talk, I will present our work on building a platform that meets these criteria. Our approach relies on electrical modulation of electrostatic force in vacuum-gap capacitors for actuating motion in cavity optomechanical devices. By eliminates the need for heterogeneous integration with piezoelectric materials, we make devices from crystalline silicon, a material with low optical absorption and small mechanical dissipation. Our measurements demonstrate ground-state cooling of the mechanical oscillator, resulting in quantum-enabled operation under a continuous laser drive. Moreover, we find that the conversion rate, characterized by the product of efficiency and bandwidth exceeds previous demonstrations with similar noise by approximately two order of magnitude. These findings marks a step towards transducers with practical utility.