Incorporating single-photon readout in a MHz frequency mechanically-mediated electro-optic converter

Incorporating optical single-photon detection in electro-optic transduction schemes is a crucial component for discrete variable protocols operating between these two disparate electromagnetic regimes. In this talk, I will discuss recent progress towards incorporating optical photon detection capabilities in an electro-opto-mechanical converter, where both electrical and optical fields are parametrically coupled to a MHz frequency mechanical object. I will discuss how signals from our converter device are routed through a pump filtering system designed to suppress the MHz-detuned optical pump by 100 dB and into cryogenic superconducting nanowire single photon detectors with sub-hertz dark count rates. Readout chain performance will be characterized by its efficiency and signal-to-noise ratio of mechanically scattered photons.