Coherent memory for microwave photons based on long-lived mechanical excitations

Abstract

Mechanical resonators, due to their capability to host ultralong-lived phonon modes, are particularly attractive for quantum state storage and as memory elements in conjunction with quantum computing and communication networks. Here we demonstrate absorptive-type coherent memory based on long-lived mechanical excitations. The itinerant coherent microwave field is captured, stored, and retrieved from a mechanical memory oscillator which is pre-cooled to the ground state. The phase space distribution allows us to distinguish between coherent and thermal components and study their evolution as a function of storage time. Our device exhibits attractive functions with an energy decay time of T1 = 15.9 s, a thermal decoherence rate of Γth = 2.85 Hz, and acquires less than one quantum noise during the τcoh = 55.7 ms storage period. We demonstrate that both the amplitude and phase information of microwave coherent states can be recovered, indicating the coherence of our memory device. These results suggest that high-Q mechanical resonators and long coherence time phonons could be ideal candidates for the construction of long-lived and on-demand microwave quantum memories.