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Frontiers in Optics

A Nanophotonic Quantum Phase Switch with a Single Atom

Jeff Thompson

Published Jan 1, 2014• 30 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We discuss a new platform for cavity QED consisting of a single Rubidium atom trapped near a nanoscale optical resonator. The combination of good atomic coherence and strong atom-photon interactions enables a variety of applications.
DOI
10.1364/ls.2014.lw4h.3

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Strong interactions between light and atoms at the single-quantum level are an important ingredient for quantum technologies, as well as for studies of fundamental effects in quantum optics. This thesis describes the development of a novel experimental platform that allows for trapping a single rubidium atom in the evanescent mode of a nano-fabricated optical cavity with sub-wavelength dimensions. By virtue of their small size, these cavities provide extremely large atom-photon coupling strengths and good prospects for scalability and integration into complex quantum optical circuits. Positioning the atom near the nano-structure is accomplished using a scanning optical tweezer dipole trap. As a first application, we have demonstrated a coherent optical switch, where a single gate photon controls the propagation of many subsequent signal photons, with the interaction mediated by the atom and cavity. We have also shown that the optical response of the combined atom-cavity system is nonlinear at the level of one or two photons.
Hybrid quantum devices, in which dissimilar quantum systems are combined in order to attain qualities not available with either system alone, may enable far-reaching control in quantum measurement, sensing, and information processing. A paradigmatic example is trapped ultracold atoms, which offer excellent quantum coherent properties, coupled to nanoscale solid-state systems, which allow for strong interactions. We demonstrate a deterministic interface between a single trapped rubidium atom and a nanoscale photonic crystal cavity. Precise control over the atom's position allows us to probe the cavity near-field with a resolution below the diffraction limit and to observe large atom-photon coupling. This approach may enable the realization of integrated, strongly coupled quantum nano-optical circuits.
By embedding a single quantum emitter inside a nanoresonator that strongly localizes optical field, it is possible to achieve a very strong light-matter interaction. The strength of this interaction is characterized by the coherent emitter-field coupling strength (g), which increases with reduction in the optical mode volume and which also sets the limit on the operational speed of such a system. With InAs quantum dots inside GaAs photonic crystal cavities, coupling strengths of 40 GHz can be reached (much greater than the record values in atom-cavity QED systems), while nanometallic cavities could increase them over 100 GHz, as a result of the further reduction in the mode volume. Such a quantum dot-nanocavity platform is of interest for various quantum technologies, as well as in optical switching/computing.
Recent experimental advances in the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) have opened new possibilities for control of atom‐photon interactions. A laser with “one and the same atom” demonstrates the theory of laser operation pressed to its conceptual limit. The generation of single photons on demand and the realization of cavity QED with well defined atomic numbers N = 0, 1, 2,… both represent important steps toward realizing diverse protocols in quantum information science. Coherent manipulation of the atomic state via Raman transitions provides a new tool in cavity QED for in situ monitoring and control of the atom‐cavity system. All of these achievements share a common point of departure: the regime of strong coupling. It is thus interesting to consider briefly the history of the strong coupling criterion in cavity QED and to trace out the path that research has taken in the pursuit of this goal.
From fundamental studies of light-matter interaction to applications in quantum networking and sensing, cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) provides a toolbox to control interactions between atoms and photons. The coherence of interactions is determined by the single-pass atomic absorption and number of photon round-trips. Reducing the cavity loss has enabled resonators supporting 1 million roundtrips but with limited material choices and increased alignment sensitivity. Here, we present a high–numerical aperture, lens-based resonator that pushes the single-atom single-photon absorption probability near its fundamental limit, reducing the mode size at the atom to order λ. This resonator provides a single-atom cooperativity of 1.6 in a cavity where the light circulates ∼10 times. We load single 87 Rb atoms into this cavity, observe strong coupling, and demonstrate cavity-enhanced atom detection with fidelity of 99.55(6)% and survival of 99.89(4)% in 130 μs. Introducing intracavity imaging systems will enable cavity arrays compatible with Rydberg atom array computing technologies, expanding the applicability of the cavity QED toolbox.
An experiment is performed where a single rubidium atom trapped within a high-finesse optical cavity emits two independently triggered entangled photons. The entanglement is mediated by the atom and is characterized both by a Bell inequality violation of S=2.5, as well as full quantum-state tomography, resulting in a fidelity exceeding F=90%. The combination of cavity-QED and trapped atom techniques makes our protocol inherently deterministic--an essential step for the generation of scalable entanglement between the nodes of a distributed quantum network.