Researchers at the University of Colorado have recently developed a new technique to measure mechanical motion using simultaneous electromechanical amplification and cooling processes. Their method, presented in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, allowed them to perform a nearly noiseless measurement of the position of a mechanical oscillator, which has so far proved to be difficult using alternative techniques for measuring motion.
"Our research came about for two reasons," Robert Delaney, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Phys.org. "First, we are using these mechanical systems to efficiently convert signals between the microwave domain and the optical domain. The conversion of signals between these two disparate frequency bands is important for networking future quantum computers, or to build the equivalent of the quantum internet."
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