Konrad Lehnert (NIST) - Arbitrary temporal and spectral mode conversion of microwave signals with a mechanical oscillator

Electromagnetic waves provide a powerful way to link distant objects. They travel fast, interact weakly, and can be efficiently routed between locations using cables or fibers. These qualities make them ideal candidates for transmitting information in a quantum network. Yet linking quantum enabled devices with cables has proved difficult because most cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED) systems used in quantum information processing can only absorb  and emit signals with a specific frequency and temporal envelope. In this talk, I will describe a new type of tunable electromechanical device that overcomes both of these mismatches for microwave signals. In particular, I will show that it can alter the temporal and spectral content of microwave signals with noise sufficiently low to preserve quantum information. This device offers a way to build quantum microwave networks using separate and otherwise incompatible components