biostudies-literatureUnknown16(1)Mayor FMIntegrated optomechanical systems are a leading platform for manipulating, sensing, and distributing quantum information, but are limited by residual optical heating. Here, we demonstrate a two-dimensional optomechanical crystal (OMC) geometry with increased thermal anchoring and a mechanical mode at 7.4 GHz, well aligned with the operation range of cryogenic microwave hardware and piezoelectric transducers. The eight times better thermalization than current one-dimensional OMCs, large optomechanical coupling rates, g₀/2π  ≈  880 kHz, and high optical quality factors, Q_opt = 2.4 × 10⁵, allow ground-state cooling (n_m = 0.32) of the acoustic mode from 3 K and entering the optomechanical strong-coupling regime. In pulsed sideband asymmetry measurements, we show ground-state operation (n_m < 0.45) at temperatures below 10 mK, with repetition rates up to 3 MHz, generating photon-phonon pairs at  ≈ 147 kHz. Our results extend optomechanical system capabilities and establish a robust foundation for future microwave-to-optical transducers with entanglement rates exceeding state-of-the-art superconducting qubit decoherence rates.Nature communications2576https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11910550biostudies-literatureHigh photon-phonon pair generation rate in a two-dimensional optomechanical crystal.PMC11910550Safavi-Naeini AHMalik SAlegre TPMJiang WPrimo AGGyger SMayor FMfalseHigh photon-phonon pair generation rate in a two-dimensional optomechanical crystal.Integrated optomechanical systems are a leading platform for manipulating, sensing, and distributing quantum information, but are limited by residual optical heating. Here, we demonstrate a two-dimensional optomechanical crystal (OMC) geometry with increased thermal anchoring and a mechanical mode at 7.4 GHz, well aligned with the operation range of cryogenic microwave hardware and piezoelectric transducers. The eight times better thermalization than current one-dimensional OMCs, large optomechanical coupling rates, g₀/2π  ≈  880 kHz, and high optical quality factors, Q_opt = 2.4 × 10⁵, allow ground-state cooling (n_m = 0.32) of the acoustic mode from 3 K and entering the optomechanical strong-coupling regime. In pulsed sideband asymmetry measurements, we show ground-state operation (n_m < 0.45) at temperatures below 10 mK, with repetition rates up to 3 MHz, generating photon-phonon pairs at  ≈ 147 kHz. Our results extend optomechanical system capabilities and establish a robust foundation for future microwave-to-optical transducers with entanglement rates exceeding state-of-the-art superconducting qubit decoherence rates.2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Mar2025-04-26T05:43:33.724Z2025-04-06T11:40:05.316ZS-EPMC119105504008954110.1038/s41467-025-57948-7