Demonstrating and exploiting the quantum nature of macroscopic mechanical objects would help us to investigate directly the limitations of quantum-based measurements and quantum information protocols, as well as to test long-standing questions about macroscopic quantum coherence1, 2, 3. Central to this effort is the necessity of long-lived mechanical states. Previous efforts have witnessed quantum behaviour4, but for a low-quality-factor mechanical system. The field of cavity optomechanics and electromechanics5, 6, in which a high-quality-factor mechanical oscillator is parametrically coupled to an electromagnetic cavity resonance, provides a practical architecture for cooling, manipulation and detection of motion at the quantum level1. One requirement is strong coupling7, 8, 9, in which the interaction between the two systems is faster than the dissipation of energy from either system. Here, by incorporating a free-standing, flexible aluminium membrane into a lumped-element superconducting resonant cavity, we have increased the single-photon coupling strength between these two systems by more than two orders of magnitude, compared to previously obtained coupling strengths. A parametric drive tone at the difference frequency between the mechanical oscillator and the cavity resonance dramatically increases the overall coupling strength, allowing us to completely enter the quantum-enabled, strong-coupling regime. This is evidenced by a maximum normal-mode splitting of nearly six bare cavity linewidths. Spectroscopic measurements of these ‘dressed states’ are in excellent quantitative agreement with recent theoretical predictions10, 11. The basic circuit architecture presented here provides a feasible path to ground-state cooling and subsequent coherent control and measurement of long-lived quantum states of mechanical motion.
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