Current research
Our current research is focused on questions related to the ultimate limits of measurement and manipulation of electrical and electromechanical systems. We are motivated to develop tools that probe, as gently as possible, the nanoscale and quantum worlds. To realize these tools, we fabricate mesoscopic electronics and nanomechanical structures which typically operate at ultralow temperatures.
Mesoscopic electromechanics
| The current flowing through an atomic point contact is a sensitive measurement of the separation of the electrodes comprising the contact. By creating an atomic point contact with one electrode formed from a floppy nanomechanical beam, we can accurately measure this sensitivity as well as the random force imposed on the beam by the act of measurement. |
|
Microwave optomechanics
| We study the interaction between microwave signals and mechanical motion by embedding very light nanomechanical beams in a superconducting microwave cavities. The microwave signals can cool the mechanical harmonic oscillator, possibly to its ground state. |  photo credit: Cindy Regal |
Analog Quantum Integrated Circuits (AQIC)
| We manipulate and measure quantum states of microwave fields. Our primary tool is a nearly lossless and nonlinear metamaterial we make from an array of SQUIDs embedded in a microwave cavity. This structure provides both a nearly noiseless amplifier and a source of sqeezed states. In this work, we colloborate with Kent Irwin's group. |
 photo credit: Manuel Castellanos-Beltran |
Ultralow power electronics for astrophysics
| The next generation of astrophysical instruments now require imaging arrays of ultrasensitive cryogenic sensors. We are developing a frequency division multiplexing scheme where each sensor's output is amplified by a SQUID and many SQUIDs are measured simultaneously by one HEMT amplifier. This work is collaboration between our group and Kent Irwin's group. |  photo credit: Konrad Lehnert |
