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Motion detection of a micromechanical resonator embedded in a d.c. SQUID

2008; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 4; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/nphys1057

1745-2481

S. Etaki, Menno Poot, Imran Mahboob, Koji Onomitsu, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Herre S. J. van der Zant,

Advanced MEMS and NEMS Technologies

Superconducting quantum interference devices, or SQUIDs as they are better known, are capable of detecting minute variations in magnetic field. Embedding a suspended beam into the structure of d.c. SQUID enables this sensitivity to be exploited for measuring displacements. Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) are the most sensitive detectors of magnetic flux1 and are also used as quantum two-level systems (qubits)2. Recent proposals have explored a novel class of devices that incorporate micromechanical resonators into SQUIDs to achieve controlled entanglement of the resonator ground state and a qubit3 as well as permitting cooling and squeezing of the resonator modes and enabling quantum-limited position detection4,5,6,7,8,9,10. In spite of these intriguing possibilities, no experimental realization of an on-chip, coupled mechanical-resonator–SQUID system has yet been achieved. Here, we demonstrate sensitive detection of the position of a 2 MHz flexural resonator that is embedded into the loop of a d.c. SQUID. We measure the resonator’s thermal motion at millikelvin temperatures, achieving an amplifier-limited displacement sensitivity of 10 fm Hz−1/2 and a position resolution that is 36 times the quantum limit.