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Science 2 April 2004:
Vol. 304. no. 5667, pp. 74 - 77
DOI: 10.1126/science.1094419
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Reports

Approaching the Quantum Limit of a Nanomechanical Resonator

M. D. LaHaye,1,2 O. Buu,1,2 B. Camarota,1,2 K. C. Schwab1*

By coupling a single-electron transistor to a high–quality factor, 19.7-megahertz nanomechanical resonator, we demonstrate position detection approaching that set by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle limit. At millikelvin temperatures, position resolution a factor of 4.3 above the quantum limit is achieved and demonstrates the near-ideal performance of the single-electron transistor as a linear amplifier. We have observed the resonator's thermal motion at temperatures as low as 56 millikelvin, with quantum occupation factors of NTH = 58. The implications of this experiment reach from the ultimate limits of force microscopy to qubit readout for quantum information devices.

1 Laboratory for Physical Sciences, 8050 Greenmead Drive, College Park, MD 20740, USA.
2 Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: schwab{at}lps.umd.edu

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