Correlation Imaging via Hybrid Entanglement between Microwave Photons and Surface Acoustic Wave Phonons

Abstract

Establishing effective spatial correlations between distinct quantum fields is essential for multi-physics quantum sensing.~We here propose a correlation imaging approach based on the hybrid entanglement between microwave photons and microwave surface acoustic wave phonons generated via a superconducting quantum circuit.~At matched microwave frequencies, the five order-of-magnitude wavelength disparity between photons and phonons leads to a unique quantum entanglement resource, which allows the optimal field for probing an object to be distinct from that used for readout.~This resource enables two imaging modalities with giant spatial scaling: a $10^{-8}-10^{-6}$-fold demagnification of macroscopic object profiles onto microscopic phononic chips, and conversely, a $10^{4}-10^{6}$-fold magnification of microscopic object profiles into macroscopic photonic readout devices. By interfacing free-space long-wavelength microwaves with on-chip short-wavelength surface acoustic waves, our correlation imaging approach provides a general framework for cross-scale quantum sensing.