Development of phononic integrated circuits

"""Controlling and manipulating phonons - quanta of acoustic vibrations - through optomechanical interactions in semiconductor integrated circuits is a rapidly growing area of research because phonons can function as unique links between radio and optical frequencies. These so-called phononic integrated circuits offer multiple benefits in signal processing, storage of optical signals, photoacoustic spectroscopy, mass sensing and microwave to optical transducers. Although progress in micro & nano fabrication has accelerated the development of more compact and performing optomechanical systems, several theoretical, design and technological challenges are still largely unexplored.
The project will deal with the development of novel phononic structures that provide more efficient phonon interactions, lower losses, and larger technological scalability. The research programme will first explore several device geometries and concepts such as piezoelectric optomechanical devices using travelling acoustic wave architectures, micro-resonators with RF antenna feeds, and Brillouin scattering in micro and bulk resonators. The most promising solutions will then be assessed in real application environments that include transducers for microwave Qbits, cryogenic microwave parametric amplifiers, and optomechanical cavities for acceleration and sensing. These experiments will benefit from a large network of academic and industrial collaborators. """