"Optical photon generation from a superconducting qubit"

Alp Sipahigil, Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology

The ability to store, transfer, and process quantum information promises to transform how we calculate and communicate. The realization of large-scale quantum systems that can achieve these tasks is an outstanding challenge and an exciting frontier in quantum science and engineering. In the past two decades, superconducting circuits based on Josephson junctions emerged as a promising platform for processing quantum information. However, these systems operate at low temperatures and microwave frequencies and require a coherent interface with optical photons to transfer quantum information across long distances.

In this talk, I will present our recent experiments demonstrating quantum transduction of a superconducting qubit excitation to an optical photon. I will describe how we use nanomechanical resonators in their quantum ground states to convert single photons from microwave frequencies to the optical domain. I will conclude by discussing the prospects of this approach for realizing quantum networks based on superconducting quantum processors and mechanical quantum memories.