Cold atoms in micromachined waveguides: A new platform for atom-photon interactions

Abstract

Hybrid quantum devices, incorporating both atoms and photons, can exploit the benefits of both to enable scalable architectures for quantum computing and quantum communication, as well as chip-scale sensors and single-photon sources. Production of such devices depends on the development of an interface between their atomic and photonic components. This should be compact, robust, and compatible with existing technologies from both fields. Here we demonstrate such an interface. Cold cesium atoms are trapped inside a transverse, 30 μm-diameter through hole in an optical fiber, created via laser micromachining. When the guided light is on resonance with the cesium D 2 line, up to 87% of it is absorbed by the atoms. The corresponding optical depth per unit length is ∼700 cm −1 , higher than any reported for a comparable system. This is important for miniaturization and scalability. The technique can be equally effective in optical waveguide chips and other existing photonic systems, providing a promising platform for fundamental research.

Membrane MOT: Trapping Dense Cold Atoms in a Sub-Millimeter Diameter Hole of a Microfabricated Membrane Device

“…The past two decades have witnessed remarkable advances in computing and sensing demonstrations that leverage coherence and entanglement in systems well-described by quantum mechanics 1,2 . Concurrently, the advent of microfabrication techniques promises to buttress the exploration of new frontiers in quantum applications [3][4][5] through atom-light interactions [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] in addition to incorporating compact MOTs [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] on atom chips [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] and superconducting circuits [34][35][36][37][38] . Already, quantum engineering for integrated quantum systems has seen the development of compact and scalable laser systems using hybrid integrated photonic circuits 39,40 with silicon photonics, III-V photonics and nonlinear optics.…”

Atomic Quantum Technologies for Quantum Matter and Fundamental Physics Applications

“…In the same context, striking experiments have been performed quite recently with cold atoms, semiconductor quantum dots, quantum solid-state defects and superconducting qubits. For instance, in recently developed cold atomic systems coupled to nanoscopic photonic waveguides [250][251][252], these nanoscale devices can mediate long-range atom-atom interaction in a similar way to standard optical cavities leading to potential applications not only in quantum simulation [253], but also in quantum communications [254][255][256].…”

Atom-light interactions using optical nanofibres—a perspective

“…This integration combines the advantages of nanophotonic devices and atomic physics, enabling precise control of atom-photon interactions in a versatile platform for multidisciplinary research encompassing nanophotonics, quantum optics, atomic physics, and condensed matter physics [2,7]. Nanophotonic devices offer strong light field confinement, scalability, efficient photon collection and integration, enhanced interfaces between atoms, and well-designed optical guided modes [8][9][10]. For example, direct coupling of quantum emitters to an optical waveguide via evanescent fields is facilitated via such a platform [11][12][13].…”