We implement and demonstrate a transducer device and use it to show that by detecting an optical photon we add a single photon to the microwave field. We achieve this by using a gigahertz nanomechanical resonance as an intermediary, and efficiently coupling it to optical and microwave channels through strong optomechanical and piezoelectric interactions.

 

W. Jiang*, F. M. Mayor*, S. Malik, R. Van Laer, T. P. McKenna, R. N. Patel, J. D. Witmer, A. H. Safavi-Naeini. “Optically heralded microwave photon addition,” Nature Physics (2023). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-023-02129-w
*equally contributed