Implementation of a quantum-limited microwave amplifier in the reversed dissipation regime of optomechanics

L. D. Toth, A. K. Feofanov, N. Bernier, C. Javerzac-Galy and T. J. Kippenberg

Laboratoire de photonique et mesures quantiques, EPF Lausanne, Switzerland

The coupling of a mechanical oscillator to an electromagnetic mode gives rise to numerous phenomena, such as optomechanical cooling and amplification of the mechanical mode, optomechanically induced transparency etc. and it allows quantum control of a mechanical object. All these standard optomechanical phenomena rely on a specific hierarchy of the time scales associated to the decoherence of the modes, namely that the energy decay of the electromagnetic mode is much larger than that of the mechanical mode. Here we introduce and analyze the regime where this hierarchy is reversed. It is shown that this regime can be used for realizing a quantum-limited microwave amplifier, which holds significance for signal detection in many areas of science, ranging from quantum computers to radio astronomy. We report on the experimental progress towards this goal, including the fabrication and characterization of a suitable microwave optomechanical device.