Micromechanical Systems
in the Quantum Regime
Angus MacKinnon
Cavendish Lab, Cambridge
Blackett Lab., Imperial College, London

Acknowledgements
Miles P Blencowe
Dartmouth College, USA
Andrew D Armour
University of Nottingham

Web Sites
Caltech – Roukes
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nano/
Cornell – Craighead
http://www.hgc.cornell.edu/index.html
UCSB – Cleland
http://www.qi.ucsb.edu/cleland/
Munich – Blick
http://www.nano.physik.uni-muenchen.de/Blick/Blick.html

Buzz Words
Nanomechanics
Yoctocalorimetry
Spin Physics
Quantum Computing
Nanotubes
Peapods
Computational Molecular Biology
Single Phonons
Squeezed Phonons
Quantum Shuttle
Which-Path devices
MEMS
NEMS
Entanglement
Universal limits

Slide 5

2 Groups of Devices
Mechanical Systems
Free standing quantum wires
Heat & phonon flow
Machines
Electromechanical Devices
Which-way devices
Quantum shuttle
Entanglement

Free Standing Wires

Musical Instruments

Thermal Landauer Formula

Universal Limits

Yoctocalorimetry
Measuring single phonons
Typical phonon energy – 10-24J = 1 Yoctojoule
2 Measurements
Thermal Conductivity
Thermal Decay

Slide 12

Quantum Gears
Gears locked together.
Incompatible angular momentum quantisation.
Is this compatible with macroscopic behaviour?

Planetary Gear

Hamiltonian
2 Gears:
Simplified – 1 Driven Gear

Single Gear
Simple Hamiltonian
Rotating Frame

Nearly Free Gear
Try
Only coupled for
Compare with
No. of states in BZ = No. of teeth
Angular Group Velocity

Nearly Free Electrons/Gears

Unexpected Result
Finite V – Finite Angular Group Velocity
Except at
 But this condition is almost certainly not fulfilled.
Why should               be an integer?

2 Gears
Let

Selection Rules
But
1st Brillouin Zone:
Tunnelling except:

Identical Gears

Different Gears

Summary - Gears
Quantisation of angular momentum not generally consistent with
Driving frequency
Other gears
>2 Gears
No solutions except for special cases.
Finite Temperature
Need

Quantum Shuttle

3 Dot Model

Crossings and Anti-crossings

Steady State Current

Landauer Model

Elastic Transmission

Inelastic Transmission

Electron-Phonon Energy Transfer

Current – Voltage Characteristic

Summary - Shuttle
Shuttle is self-driving
If potential difference big enough
Sensitive to dissipation mechanism
I-V Characteristic quickly washed out at finite T.
How to calculate transit time?
How to avoid negative delay times?
Current standard?

Which Path Device

Which Path Device – Why?
Quantum Measurement
Complementarity
Interference
Entanglement
Schrödinger’s cat

Electromechnical
Which-Path Device

Electromechanical Device
Simple Ideas
No change in the state of the cantilever
Aharonov-Bohm interference fringes
Cantilever state changes
Fringes destroyed
No non-destructive measurements
But
What about coherent coupling to the cantilever?

Resonant Coupling
Dwell time on dot » resonant frequency
Destroyed by coupling of cantilever to the environment
Need a high Q cantilever
Dissipation not well understood

Reflectivity

Slide 41

Summary
Simple nanomechanical devices
 now being made.
Nature got there first
lots of biological examples
Science fiction?
Micro machines to go around the bloodstream fixing the body
Lots of interesting new physics.