IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society Annual Meeting (LEOS)

Photonic crystal microcavities for strong coupling between an atom and the cavity field

Jelena Vuckovic A, Marko Lončar, Hideo Mabuchi, Axel Scherer

Published Nov 7, 2002• 3 citations

Abstract

We have demonstrated theoretically that photonic crystal (PC) cavities can be designed for strong interaction with atoms trapped in one of the PC holes. At present, we are working on further optimization of the design and the characterization of fabricated structures.

DOI: 10.1109/leos.2000.894116

Related papers

Design of photonic crystal microcavities for cavity QED

Jelena Vuckovic A, Marko Lončar, Hideo Mabuchi +1 more

We discuss the optimization of optical microcavity designs based on two-dimensional photonic crystals for the purpose of strong coupling between the cavity field and a single neutral atom trapped within a hole. We present numerical predictions for the quality factors and mode volumes of localized defect modes as a function of geometric parameters, and discuss some experimental challenges related to the coupling of a defect cavity to gas-phase atoms.

arXiv:quant-ph/0208101Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topicsDec 21, 2001317 citations

Design and analysis of photonic crystal coupled cavity arrays for quantum simulation

Arka Majumdar, Armand Rundquist, Michal Bajcsy +3 more

We performed an experimental study of coupled optical cavity arrays in a photonic crystal platform. We find that the coupling between the cavities is significantly larger than the fabrication-induced disorder in the cavity frequencies. Satisfying this condition is necessary for using such cavity arrays to generate strongly correlated photons, which has potential application in the quantum simulation of many-body systems.

arXiv:1209.3076Physical Review BNov 19, 201297 citations

Photonic Crystal Waveguides for Integration into an Atomic Physics Experiment

Andrew McClung

Strongly interacting systems of atoms and photons are an important resource in many active areas of research, including quantum information science, quantum simulation, and metrology. Frequently, the strength of these interactions is enhanced by using an optical resonator to confine light to a small volume. In recent years, there have been efforts to replace traditional Fabry–Pérot resonators, formed from macroscopic mirrors, with micro- and nano-fabricated systems, leveraging techniques and infrastructure from semiconductor manufacture to scalably produce high-quality, small mode volume waveguides and resonators. Of particular interest are nano-fabricated photonic crystals, in which very fine control over modal and dispersion properties is possible. Here I describe our efforts to reliably produce photonic crystal waveguides with guided modes designed to trap and interrogate an array of ultracold cesium atoms. Specifically, I present models capturing band placement, modal structure, finite photonic crystal effects, and waveguide input and output coupling; I discuss the techniques we use to fabricate our photonic crystal waveguides; and I describe our characterization capabilities and the packaging and installation of the waveguides into the atomic physics system.

Jun 9, 20174 citations

Designing light-matter interactions with trapped atoms in two dimensional photonic crystals slabs

Juan A. Muniz, Su‐Peng Yu, Andrew McClung +7 more

We describe two-dimensional photonic crystals that support atom trapping as well as strong radiative coupling to guided modes. We explore tailoring interactions between atoms and photons, as well as ongoing experimental progress.

Frontiers in OpticsJan 1, 20150 citations

Self-assembled quantum dots in a fully tunable microcavity

Lukas Greuter

The interaction of light with matter is at the heart of quantum optics, which itself enables insight into the fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics. First experimental access to this research field has been realized by coupling atoms to light. Here, the transition between discrete energy states of the atom is associated with the absorption and emission of a photon, a single quantum of the electromagnetic field. As a central aspect of quantum optics, the light-emitter interaction can be significantly enhanced by placing the emitter in optical cavity that is on resonance with the emitter. In recent years, this has led to a rapidly evolving research field known as cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED). In CQED two different regimes are distinguished: the strong and the weak coupling regimes. In the strong coupling regime, the emitted photon is reflected from the cavity mirrors and eventually reabsorbed by the emitter. In contrast, the weak coupling regime describes the irreversible emission, where the photon leaks out of the cavity before it can be reabsorbed. Both the weak and strong coupling regimes enabled fundamental experiments for a better understanding of quantum optical phenomena. \n \n \n \nCQED grants access to the quantum world and hence offers potentially revolutionizing applications, particularly in the field of quantum information processing. A central aspect for the successful implementation of quantum applications is the system's scalability. Unfortunately, placing atoms deterministically inside a cavity remains technologically elaborate and hence minimizes the prospect of scaling a atom-CQED system. \n \nA possibility to address this issue is to implement CQED in the solid state, where sophisticated fabrication strategies allow miniaturization and scalability of the system. Particularly the development of self-assembled quantum dots (QD) in semiconductors represent a promising route. QDs can be considered as artificial atoms that mimic the atomic two-level system. These structures interact strongly with light and therefore have the potential for replacing atoms in CQED. As a central advantage, QDs are naturally trapped, which greatly simplifies the deterministic incorporation into the cavity. \n \nIn recent years, many efforts have been made to couple self-assembled QDs to microcavities. Generally, the successful implementation of CQED requires a cavity with a high quality factor Q and a low mode volume. In a majority of the approaches, the high Q/small mode volume cavities were monolithically defined around the QD, embedding the QD at a fixed position inside the cavity. Both the weak and strong coupling regimes have been reached with these systems. However, for future applications they suffer from several disadvantages. The fixed position of the QD inside the cavity minimizes the prospects for spectral tunability and spatial positioning the QD inside the cavity. Furthermore, prospects for further increasing of the cavity Q-factor and minimization of the mode volume remain limited in these systems. \n \nIn this thesis the mentioned disadvantages are addressed by developing a fully tunable miniaturized Fabry-Pérot microcavity with low mode volume. The design enables both spatial positioning of the emitter inside the cavity and spectral tunability. Successful coupling of a single QD to the microcavity is demonstrated including the strong coupling regime. Further a new approach to decrease the cavity mode volume is presented, where we demonstrate weak coupling is achieved

Jan 1, 20150 citations

Systematic design of photonic crystal waveguides for strong coupling with trapped cold atoms

Adrien Bouscal, Alban Urvoy, Jérémy Berroir +9 more

We present a proposal for trapping Rubidium cold atoms near a novel design of a GaInP photonic crystal waveguide with characteristics optimized through systematic and inverse design. Purcell factors higher than unity are predicted.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-OpticsJan 1, 20210 citations