Strong coupling between an atom and an electromagnetic resonator is an important condition in cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). While strong coupling in various physical systems has been achieved so far, it remained elusive for single atomic ions. In this paper we demonstrate for the first time the coupling of a single ion to an optical cavity with a coupling strength exceeding both atomic and cavity decay rates. We use cavity assisted Raman spectroscopy to precisely characterize the ion-cavity coupling strength and observe a spectrum featuring the normal mode splitting in the cavity transmission due to the ion-cavity interaction. Our work paves the way towards new applications of cavity QED utilizing single trapped ions in the strong coupling regime for quantum optics and quantum technologies.

We present a novel method of machining optical fiber surfaces with a CO₂ laser for use in Fiber-based Fabry-Perot Cavities (FFPCs). Previously FFPCs were prone to large birefringence and limited to relatively short cavity lengths (≤ 200 μm). These characteristics hinder their use in some applications such as cavity quantum electrodynamics with trapped ions. We optimized the laser machining process to produce large, uniform surface structures. This enables the cavities to achieve high finesse even for long cavity lengths. By rotating the fibers around their axis during the laser machining process the asymmetry resulting from the laser's transverse mode profile is eliminated. Consequently we are able to fabricate fiber mirrors with a high degree of rotational symmetry, leading to remarkably low birefringence. Through measurements of the cavity finesse over a range of cavity lengths and the polarization dependence of the cavity linewidth, we confirmed the quality of the produced fiber mirrors for use in low-birefringence FFPCs.

We report on the alteration of photon emission properties of a single trapped ion coupled to a high finesse optical fiber cavity. We show that the vacuum field of the cavity can simultaneously affect the emissions in both the infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) branches of the Λ−type level system of 40 Ca + despite the cavity coupling only to the IR transition. The cavity induces strong emission in the IR transition through the Purcell effect resulting in a simultaneous suppression of the UV fluorescence. The measured suppression of this fluorescence is as large as 66% compared with the case without the cavity. Through analysis of the measurement results, we have obtained an ion-cavity coupling ofḡ0 = 2π · (5.3 ± 0.1) MHz, the largest ever reported so far for a single ion in the IR domain.

We report a novel miniature Paul ion trap design with an integrated optical fibre cavity which can serve as a building block for a fibre-linked quantum network. In such cavity quantum electrodynamic set-ups, the optimal coupling of the ions to the cavity mode is of vital importance and this is achieved by moving the ion relative to the cavity mode. The trap presented herein features an endcap-style design complemented with extra electrodes on which additional radiofrequency voltages are applied to fully control the pseudopotential minimum in three dimensions. This method lifts the need to use three-dimensional translation stages for moving the fibre cavity with respect to the ion and achieves high integrability, mechanical rigidity and scalability. Not based on modifying the capacitive load of the trap, this method leads to precise control of the pseudopotential minimum allowing the ion to be moved with precisions limited only by the ion's position spread. We demonstrate this by coupling the ion to the fibre cavity and probing the cavity mode profile.

We report the realisation of a high-finesse open-access cavity array, tailored towards the creation of multiple coherent light-matter interfaces within a compact environment. We describe the key technical developments put in place to fabricate such a system, comprising the creation of tapered pyramidal substrates and an in-house laser machining setup. Cavities made from these mirrors are characterised, by laser spectroscopy, to possess similar optical properties to state-of-the-art fibre-tip cavities, but offer a compelling route towards improved performance, even when used to support only a single mode. The implementation of a 2×2 cavity array and the independent frequency tuning between three neighbouring sites are demonstrated.