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arXiv:2009.03615 · Physical Review Research

Surface-plasmon-based dispersive detection and spectroscopy of ultracold atoms

Matthias Mildner, Claus Zimmermann, Sebastian Slama

Published Jan 4, 2021• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The paper reports on the optical detection and spectroscopy of ultracold atoms near a gold surface.A probe light field is used to excite surface plasmon polaritons.The refractive index of the atomic gas shifts the plasmon resonance and changes the reflected light power.Thus, the sensitivity of the detection is plasmonically enhanced.Absorption of photons from the evanescent wave is avoided by detuning the laser from atomic resonance which makes the detection scheme potentially nondestructive.The spectrum of the signal is determined by a Fano resonance.We show that atoms can be detected nondestructively with single atom resolution for typical parameters in cold atom experiments.Thus, the method is suitable for quantum nondemolition measurements of matter wave amplitudes.Experimentally, we measure a technically limited sensitivity of 30 atoms and extend the detection scheme to dispersively image the atom cloud near the surface.

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.3.013005

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The paper reports on the optical detection and spectroscopy of ultracold atoms near a gold surface.A probe light field is used to excite surface plasmon polaritons.The refractive index of the atomic gas shifts the plasmon resonance and changes the reflected light power.Thus, the sensitivity of the detection is plasmonically enhanced.Absorption of photons from the evanescent wave is avoided by detuning the laser from atomic resonance which makes the detection scheme potentially nondestructive.The spectrum of the signal is determined by a Fano resonance.We show that atoms can be detected nondestructively with single atom resolution for typical parameters in cold atom experiments.Thus, the method is suitable for quantum nondemolition measurements of matter wave amplitudes.Experimentally, we measure a technically limited sensitivity of 30 atoms and extend the detection scheme to dispersively image the atom cloud near the surface.
Abstract This paper reports on conceptual and experimental work towards the realization of plasmonic surface traps for cold atoms. The trapping mechanism is based on the combination of a repulsive and an attractive potential generated by evanescent light waves that are plasmonically enhanced. The strength of enhancement can be locally manipulated via the thickness of a metal nanolayer deposited on top of a dielectric substrate. Thus, in principle the trapping geometry can be predefined by the metal layer design. We present simulations of a plasmonic lattice potential using a gold grating with sinusoidally modulated thickness. Experimentally, a first plasmonic test structure is presented and characterized. Furthermore, the surface potential landscape is detected by reflecting ultracold atom clouds from the test structure revealing the influence of both evanescent waves. A parameter range is identified where stable traps can be expected.
A scheme for the detection of cold metastable atoms at surfaces with spatial and temporal resolution is studied experimentally, using methods of laser cooling and atom optics. Electron emission yields for deexcitation of the metastable states 1s5(J=2) and 1s3(J=0) of argon at a gold surface are compared with a technique that is based on optical pumping and the use of an evanescent-wave atom mirror as an internal-state filter, and are found to agree to within an uncertainty of 10%. The application of the detection scheme to time-of-flight spectroscopy of cold atom clouds is demonstrated. The detector has a field of view of 3 mm diameter, a spatial resolution of order 100 μm, and a time resolution of 20 μs, and the single-atom detection efficiency near the center of the field of view is 14% in the linear counting regime of up to 106 atoms/s.
Up to now, Doppler-free nonlinear spectroscopy has been applied to atoms inside a gas medium (volume spectroscopy). We have extended these methods to atoms in the vicinity of a surface. The basic principle consists of monitoring reflectivity changes produced when a laser beam, incident on a glass–vapor interface, is brought into resonance with an atomic transition. For Doppler-free spectroscopy, two counterpropagating beams are used to operate velocity selection. If these two beams are under normal incidence in the glass—velocity selection perpendicular to the surface—one observes saturated dispersion (selective reflection sensitive to the real index). For incidence angles in the glass (prism) larger than the critical angle (total internal reflection), a standing evanescent wave is produced in the gas (velocity selection along the surface), and saturated absorption is detected. Experimental demonstration was performed on the Na resonance line; high sensitivity (10−4 relative reflectivity change) and spectral resolution as good as 20 MHz were obtained. The main limitation to better resolution comes from the short atomic transit time in the evanescent wave (typical extension ~λ). Relevant applications of these techniques should also concern the diagnostics of optically thick media, as analysis of interaction between gas-phase atoms and the surface, notably atom–wall collisions, and modification of the spontaneous emission characteristics.
Abstract In a four-level atomic configuration, we suggest a theoretical framework that is capable of obtaining sub-wavelength atomic localization by utilizing surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Via quantum interference mechanisms, we exhibit precise atomic positioning by utilizing the strong electromagnetic field confinement and enhanced near field interactions inherent to (SPPs). Our model employs specialized probe and control fields to generate spatially dependent absorption, thereby facilitating atomic localization with nanometer scale precision. We have identified sharply defined localization patterns that are regulated by phase modulation and detuning parameters through comprehensive numerical simulations. The conventional diffraction limit is effectively overcome by the coupling between (SPP) modes and atomic states, while quantum coherence is maintained. These findings provide practical implications for applications in plasmon enhanced spectroscopy, nanolithography, and atomic trapping, as they open new frontiers for quantum-scale manipulation. Additionally, we establish the optimal operational parameters that optimize spatial resolution and suppress decoherence in plasmonic nanostructures.
Abstract We propose a quantum gas microscope for ultracold atoms that enables nondestructive atom detection, thus evading higher-band excitation and change of the internal degrees of freedom. We show that photon absorption of a probe beam cannot be ignored even in dispersive detection to obtain a signal-to-noise ratio greater than unity because of the shot noise of the probe beam under a standard measurement condition. The first scheme we consider for the nondestructive detection, applicable to an atom that has an electronic ground state without spin degrees of freedom, is to utilize a magic-wavelength condition of the optical lattice for the transition for probing. The second is based on the dispersive Faraday effect and squeezed quantum noise and is applicable to an atom with spins in the ground state. In this second scheme, a scanning microscope is adopted to exploit the squeezed state and reduce the effective losses. Application to ultracold ytterbium atoms is discussed.
We develop a new scheme of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) atom localization via absorption and gain spectra of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a closed loop four-level atomic system. For the atom–field interaction, we construct a spatially dependent field by superimposing two (three) standing-wave fields (SWFs) in 2D (3D) atom localization, respectively. We achieve high-precision and high spatial resolution of an atom localization by appropriately adjusting the system parameters such as probe field detuning and phase shifts of the SWFs. The absorption and gain spectra are used to attain information about the position of an atom in SPPs. Our proposed scheme opens up a fascinating way to improve the atom localization that supplies some practical applications in a high-dimensional SPPs.