Coherent phonon dynamics in spatially separated graphene mechanical resonators

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Mar 17;117(11):5582-5587. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1916978117. Epub 2020 Mar 2.

Abstract

Vibrational modes in mechanical resonators provide a promising candidate to interface and manipulate classical and quantum information. The observation of coherent dynamics between distant mechanical resonators can be a key step toward scalable phonon-based applications. Here we report tunable coherent phonon dynamics with an architecture comprising three graphene mechanical resonators coupled in series, where all resonators can be manipulated by electrical signals on control gates. We demonstrate coherent Rabi oscillations between spatially separated resonators indirectly coupled via an intermediate resonator serving as a phonon cavity. The Rabi frequency fits well with the microwave burst power on the control gate. We also observe Ramsey interference, where the oscillation frequency corresponds to the indirect coupling strength between these resonators. Such coherent processes indicate that information encoded in vibrational modes can be transferred and stored between spatially separated resonators, which can open the venue of on-demand phonon-based information processing.

Keywords: coherent oscillation; graphene mechanical resonator; phonon-based information processing.