Phase controllable four-wave mixing in the hybrid opto-electromechanical system

Abstract

The future quantum networks will require reversible coherent conversion and modulation between microwave and optical photons to link the quantum information-processing ability of microwave and long-distance distribution ability of optical photons. Here, we present a scheme of bi-directional phase controllable four-wave mixing (FWM) between microwave and optical fields in the hybrid opto-electromechanical system. As an intermediate interface, a nanomechanical resonator optomechanically couples both optomechanical cavities in the optical and microwave frequency domains by the radiation pressure forces. We can find the four peaks of FWM, study the effects of the phases of the driven fields on the total, absolute, and cross correlation FWMs, and achieve the laws of phase control FWM based on quantum interference. In particular, we believe that such a hybrid opto- and electro-mechanical device incorporating highly coherent and compact mechanical elements on a chip has some potential functions for electro-optic modulation. We expect that such a modulator will have a broad range of applications including in optical communications and further quantum networks.