For the last decade, scientists have been making giant leaps in their ability to build and control systems based on the bizarre rules of quantum mechanics, which describe the behavior of particles at the subatomic scale.
But a challenge is getting delicate quantum systems to play well with mechanical ones—anything with moving parts—which underlie a great deal of existing technology.
In a first, scientists with the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have built a mechanical system—a tiny “echo chamber” for sound waves—that can be controlled at the quantum level, by connecting it to quantum circuits.
“Getting these two technologies to talk to one another is a key first step for all kinds of quantum applications,” said lead study author Andrew Cleland, the John A. MacLean Sr. Professor for Molecular Engineering Innovation and Enterprise and a senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. “With this approach, we’ve achieved quantum control over a mechanical system at a level well beyond what’s been done before.”
In particular, Cleland said, there’s been much interest in integrating quantum and mechanical systems in order to make incredibly precise quantum sensors that could detect the tiniest of vibrations or interact with individual atoms.