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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen
TT 12: New Experimental Techniques
TT 12.1: Talk
Wednesday, September 29, 2021, 10:00–10:15, H7
Chip-based magnetic levitation of superconducting microparticles for macroscopic quantum experiments — •Marti Gutierrez1, Achintya Paradkar1, Gerard Higgins1,2, and Witlef Wieczorek1 — 1Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivagen 9, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden — 2Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ), Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, Vienna, A-1090, Austria
In this work, we demonstrate chip-based magnetic levitation of superconducting microparticles. Magnetic levitation has been proposed as a platform to decouple the center-of-mass (COM) motion of a levitated mechanical resonators from the environment. As a result, this platform enables the development of novel, ultra-sensitive force and acceleration sensors, as well as performing quantum experiments with macroscopic objects of 10^13 atomic mass units. Our approach is based on an integrated magnetic trap consisting of a two-chip stack with micro-fabricated niobium superconducting coils. We further fabricate near spherical lead spheres of sub-100um diameter. A pair of integrated coils is used to generate the magnetic trapping field, while additional coils are used for SQUID-based detection and, independently, for feedback-based manipulation of the COM motion of the levitated particle. We show first trapping experiments, where we observe the motion of the levitated particle optically and via SQUID-based read-out. In future experiments, we aim to couple the levitated particle to superconducting circuits, in order to perform quantum control over its COM motion.