High-Speed Quantum Transducer with a Single-Photon Emitter in a 2D Resonator

Quantum transducers can transfer quantum information between different systems. Microwave–optical photon conversion is important for future quantum networks to interconnect remote superconducting quantum computers with optical fibers. Here, a high-speed quantum transducer based on a single-photon emitter in an atomically thin membrane resonator, that can couple single microwave photons to single optical photons, is proposed. The 2D resonator is a freestanding van der Waals heterostructure (which may consist of hexagonal boron nitride, graphene, or other 2D materials) that hosts a quantum emitter. The mechanical vibration (phonon) of the 2D resonator interacts with optical photons by shifting the optical transition frequency of the single-photon emitter with strain or the Stark effect. The mechanical vibration couples to microwave photons by shifting the resonant frequency of an LC circuit that includes the membrane. Thanks to the small mass of the 2D resonator, both the single-photon optomechanical coupling strength and the electromechanical coupling strength can reach the strong coupling regime. This provides a way for high-speed quantum state transfer between a microwave photon, a phonon, and an optical photon.