Periodic Reporting for period 3 - LeviTeQ (Levitated Nanoparticles for Technology and Quantum Nanophysics: New frontiers in physics at the nanoscale.)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-02-01 al 2023-07-31
leviTeQ explores the potential to use levitated nanoparticles to explore fundamental science (in particular quantum science and nano-thermodynamics) and to build new classical and quantum technologies.
Thermal energy can mask the sensitivity of levitated systems to the environment, and precludes any quantum application, hence cooling is required. LeviTeQ will extend cooling to all degrees of freedom, offering for the first time the potential to control the full motion of a nanoscale object, even to the quantum level. This is essential for quantum exploitation, since uncontrolled degrees of freedom will lead to decoherence. Nanofabrication technology will be exploited, to create cylindrical nanorods whose alignment can be controlled by the polarization of light. LEVITEQ will lead the world in the control of rotational motion, which is not only of fundamental interest, but enables ultra-sensitive monitoring of the environment, for example the ability to spatially resolve gas flows on the micrometre scale.
LeviTeQ introduces an entirely new platform, where the levitated system is coupled to an electrical circuit, kick-starting the field of levitated electromechanics, allowing circuit integration and readout. In this way, the ultra-low dissipation levitated system can challenge and surpass quartz crystal oscillator technology, which is ubiquitous in communications, navigation, and integrated signal processing. Levitated electromechanics will allow fully electronic control and cooling of the motion of a nanoparticle, avoiding the detrimental scattering and absorption encountered in optical levitation.
Unlike other optomechanical systems, many applications of the levitated system are possible in a room temperature environment, pointing towards simple technological integration. For true technological advance, the interaction between the nanoparticles and their environment must be fully understood. The field of nanothermodynamics is still emerging, and levitated objects have already proven to be excellent testbeds. LeviTeQ will extend this study deep into unexplored regimes, uncovering previously unobserved thermodynamic phenomena.
Levitated electromechanical and optomechanical systems are compatible, which LeviTeQ will demonstrate for the first time, allowing coherent conversion of optical signals to electrical signals, for example interfacing optical fibre technology with electronic signal processing. With the potential to operate at the quantum level, one can foresee the conversion of freely propagating quantum states of light into highly controllable quantum electrical signals, a quantum transducer acting as a node in a quantum information network. Low frequency, low dissipation oscillators are suitable for coherent signal storage. These transduction and long-storage applications are not possible in atomic systems, such as NV centres or quantum dots.
Thermal energy can mask the sensitivity of levitated systems to the environment, and precludes any quantum application, hence cooling is required. LeviTeQ will extend cooling to all degrees of freedom, offering for the first time the potential to control the full motion of a nanoscale object, even to the quantum level. This is essential for quantum exploitation, since uncontrolled degrees of freedom will lead to decoherence. Nanofabrication technology will be exploited, to create cylindrical nanorods whose alignment can be controlled by the polarization of light. LEVITEQ will lead the world in the control of rotational motion, which is not only of fundamental interest, but enables ultra-sensitive monitoring of the environment, for example the ability to spatially resolve gas flows on the micrometre scale.
LeviTeQ introduces an entirely new platform, where the levitated system is coupled to an electrical circuit, kick-starting the field of levitated electromechanics, allowing circuit integration and readout. In this way, the ultra-low dissipation levitated system can challenge and surpass quartz crystal oscillator technology, which is ubiquitous in communications, navigation, and integrated signal processing. Levitated electromechanics will allow fully electronic control and cooling of the motion of a nanoparticle, avoiding the detrimental scattering and absorption encountered in optical levitation.
Unlike other optomechanical systems, many applications of the levitated system are possible in a room temperature environment, pointing towards simple technological integration. For true technological advance, the interaction between the nanoparticles and their environment must be fully understood. The field of nanothermodynamics is still emerging, and levitated objects have already proven to be excellent testbeds. LeviTeQ will extend this study deep into unexplored regimes, uncovering previously unobserved thermodynamic phenomena.
Levitated electromechanical and optomechanical systems are compatible, which LeviTeQ will demonstrate for the first time, allowing coherent conversion of optical signals to electrical signals, for example interfacing optical fibre technology with electronic signal processing. With the potential to operate at the quantum level, one can foresee the conversion of freely propagating quantum states of light into highly controllable quantum electrical signals, a quantum transducer acting as a node in a quantum information network. Low frequency, low dissipation oscillators are suitable for coherent signal storage. These transduction and long-storage applications are not possible in atomic systems, such as NV centres or quantum dots.
We have built a state-of-the-art optical levitation system, and tested it using commercial silica nanospheres. We have cooled all three degrees of freedom of these nanospheres, using both state-of-the-art electronics, and cheap re-programmable circuits. We have developed and published a method for the direct loading of nanoparticles into our optical traps with high efficiency, which has impact for experiments around the world. We have commissioned precision nano-fabricated silicon nanorods. We have trapped and characterized these nanorods, and theoretically developed a novel method to use the polarization of light to cool them. We have discovered and published a new polarization of light, and used this to control the rotation of the nanorods, with a torque 100,000 larger than seen in any other experiment. We have built a high finesse optical cavity, and will use this to cool the motion of nanorods to the quantum regime. We have published work theoretically exploring the use of levitated nanoparticles as gravity sensors.
We have further explored these nanorods as gas sensors, and have secured industrial partnerships to exploit this technology. We have explored and developed robust and miniaturized optical levitation technologies.
We have built several systems which use electrical fields to levitate charged nanoparticles. We have been carrying out studies of nanothermodyanamics, such as the use of intense fields to create significant heating, and the use of novel coloured-noise sources to explore fundamental thermodynamics. This has involved new collaborations and the development of new technology, and represents the first studies of thermodynamics in the underdamped regime. We have developed and published new detection methods for tracking levitated particles, and are exploring industrial funding to take this further. We are pushing hard to miniaturize our devices to couple their motion to electrical circuits, but this task has proven more challenging than expected. We have developed and published theoretical models for exploiting our electrical levitation experiments in the quantum regime.
We have further explored these nanorods as gas sensors, and have secured industrial partnerships to exploit this technology. We have explored and developed robust and miniaturized optical levitation technologies.
We have built several systems which use electrical fields to levitate charged nanoparticles. We have been carrying out studies of nanothermodyanamics, such as the use of intense fields to create significant heating, and the use of novel coloured-noise sources to explore fundamental thermodynamics. This has involved new collaborations and the development of new technology, and represents the first studies of thermodynamics in the underdamped regime. We have developed and published new detection methods for tracking levitated particles, and are exploring industrial funding to take this further. We are pushing hard to miniaturize our devices to couple their motion to electrical circuits, but this task has proven more challenging than expected. We have developed and published theoretical models for exploiting our electrical levitation experiments in the quantum regime.
** WP1: Full control and cooling of a levitated nanoparticle
- Development of a novel particle-loading technique, which will be of use to all groups working with levitated particles, and greatly increases the reliability and repeatability of our work.
- Commission of novel silicon nanorods and methods to control their motion.
- Straightforward implementation of a novel optical polarization for controlling levitated particles.
- An industrial partnership to exploit levitated nanoparticles as gas sensors.
Will deliver before the end of the project:
- Demonstration of new and simple nanoparticle cooling techniques
- Use of an optical cavity to cool a nanorod to the quantum ground state
** WP2: Extremely underdamped thermodynamics
- Creation of the first underdamped heat engine.
- Use of novel detection technologies.
- Novel detection technologies in an active feedback loop for particle cooling and control.
Will deliver before the end of the project:
- Creation of ultra-efficient heat engine
- Study of non-white-noise fluctuation theorems
- Study of non-Markovian dynamics.
** WP3: Networking a charged nanoparticle to an electrical circuit.
- Creation of miniaturized trapping geometries to assist in electrical detection of charged particle motion
- Theoretical work on the quantum description and application of charged nanoparticles coupled to electrical circuits.
- Design and build of simple, cheap, miniaturized chip-based platform.
Will deliver before the end of the project:
- Detection of induced current
- Use of induced current for cooling and sensing.
- Development of a novel particle-loading technique, which will be of use to all groups working with levitated particles, and greatly increases the reliability and repeatability of our work.
- Commission of novel silicon nanorods and methods to control their motion.
- Straightforward implementation of a novel optical polarization for controlling levitated particles.
- An industrial partnership to exploit levitated nanoparticles as gas sensors.
Will deliver before the end of the project:
- Demonstration of new and simple nanoparticle cooling techniques
- Use of an optical cavity to cool a nanorod to the quantum ground state
** WP2: Extremely underdamped thermodynamics
- Creation of the first underdamped heat engine.
- Use of novel detection technologies.
- Novel detection technologies in an active feedback loop for particle cooling and control.
Will deliver before the end of the project:
- Creation of ultra-efficient heat engine
- Study of non-white-noise fluctuation theorems
- Study of non-Markovian dynamics.
** WP3: Networking a charged nanoparticle to an electrical circuit.
- Creation of miniaturized trapping geometries to assist in electrical detection of charged particle motion
- Theoretical work on the quantum description and application of charged nanoparticles coupled to electrical circuits.
- Design and build of simple, cheap, miniaturized chip-based platform.
Will deliver before the end of the project:
- Detection of induced current
- Use of induced current for cooling and sensing.