Towards cavity-free ground-state cooling of an acoustic-frequency silicon nitride membrane.

We demonstrate feedback cooling of a millimeter-scale, 40 kHz SiN membrane from room temperature to 5 mK (3000 phonons) using a Michelson interferometer, and discuss the challenges to ground-state cooling without an optical cavity. This advance appears within reach of current membrane technology, positioning it as a compelling alternative to levitated systems for quantum sensing and fundamental weak force measurements.