Real-space characterization of cavity-coupled waveguide systems in hypersonic phononic crystals

Abstract: A phononic crystal formed in a suspended membrane provides full confinement of hypersonic waves and thus realizes a range of chip-scale manipulations. In this letter, we demonstrate the mode-resolved real-space characterization of the mechanical vibration properties in cavities and waveguide systems. Multiple resonant modes are independently characterized in various designed cavities, and wavelength-scale high-$Q$ resonances up to $Q=$ 4200 under atmospheric conditions are confirmed. This also reveals that the waveguide allows us to resolve single-mode wave transmission and thereby drive evanescently-coupled cavities. The methods offer a significant tool with which to build compact and low-power microwave phononic circuitry for signal processing and hybrid quantum system applications.