The observation of quantized nanomechanical oscillations by detecting femtometer-scale displacements is a significant challenge for experimentalists. We propose that a phonon blockade can serve as a signature of quantum behavior in nanomechanical resonators. In analogy to the photon blockade and Coulomb blockade for electrons, the main idea for phonon blockade is that the second phonon cannot be excited when there is one phonon in the nonlinear oscillator. To realize phonon blockade, a superconducting quantum two-level system is coupled to the nanomechanical resonator and is used to induce the phonon self-interaction. Using Monte Carlo simulations, the dynamics of the induced nonlinear oscillator is studied via the Cahill-Glauber $s$-parametrized quasiprobability distributions. We show how the oscillation of the resonator can occur in the quantum regime and demonstrate how the phonon blockade can be observed with the currently accessible experimental parameters.

• Received 26 October 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.82.032101