Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology were able to use sound in place of light to communicate with an atom.
By using an acoustic wave, instead of a light wave, to couple with an artificial atom, the atom was made to absorb and emit energy from the sound wave, according to Science2.0.
The researchers used a frequency of 4.8 gigahertz, which is 20 octaves about the highest note on a piano. This is close to microwave frequencies used in wireless networks around the globe.
The wavelength is short at this high frequency, and can be guided on the surface of a microchip where the artificial atom is placed.
Natural atoms come in the range of nanometers and are "many scales smaller," according to Science2.0.
"According to the theory, the sound from the atom is divided into quantum particles," says Martin Gustafsson, the Science paper's first author. "Such a particle is the weakest sound that can be detected."
A sound particle allows for better control over the phenomena since it is slower than light.
The sound particle can interact with bigger atoms than what is required with light, by virtue of its smaller wavelength. Atoms can then be designed to couple with the sound particle to produce maximum interaction.
Researchers used a substrate of gallium arsenide (GaAs) with two important parts.
One of them was a superconducting circuit that constitutes the artificial atom, and the other was an interdigital transducer (IDT).
The IDT converts electrical microwaves to sound and vice versa, according to Science2.0.
Experiments were conducted at very low temperatures, near absolute zero, to rule out interference from heat energy.
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