Microwave photonic circulator based on optomechanical-like interactions

The circulator is an important device in quantum information, which can route the input state to a designated output channel. In this work, we propose a scheme to realize a microwave photonic circulator based on optomechanical-like superconducting interactions. Our setup involves three high-frequency (HF) resonators and a low-frequency (LF) resonator. The HF resonators are coupled to the LF frequency resonator by the superconducting quantum interference device, and the HF resonators are coupled each other via linear interactions. Driving the HF resonators with three coherent fields results in synthetic magnetic fluxes, which, in combination with dissipative coupling to the LF resonator's bath, leads to nonreciprocal transports of microwave photons. Different from circulators based on the optomechanical system, our scheme has stronger coupling and no thermal phonon noise. In the specific phase relationship, we calculate the nonreciprocal condition of the microwave photonic circulator and find that the transmission direction can be controlled by the phase differences between the driving fields. We obtain the parameters that affect the bandwidth. Moreover, we investigate the effects of imperfection. Our results provide a theoretical proposal for the realization of a high-isolation (68.4 dB) and low-dissipation microwave photonic circulator.

Automated summary

A scheme for a microwave photonic circulator based on optomechanical-like superconducting interactions is proposed, providing stronger coupling and lower noise compared to optomechanical systems. The transmission direction can be controlled by the phase differences between driving fields, and the effects of imperfection are investigated. The results offer a theoretical proposal for achieving a high-isolation and low-dissipation microwave photonic circulator.