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Journal of Physics Conference Series

Interrogation and fabrication of nm scale hot alkali vapour cells

K A Whittaker, James Keaveney, Ifan G. Hughes, A Sargysyan, David G. Sarkisyan, Benjamin Gmeiner, Vahid Sandoghdar, Charles S. Adams

Published Sep 7, 2015• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Here we describe our use of cells with nm scale thickness ('nanocells') to investigate inter-atomic, atom- light and atom-surface interactions. Such cells allow us to access high density regimes previously unexplored in vapour cell spectroscopy, and to probe the interaction of atoms within the near field of surfaces, where atoms interact with their own virtual image. We also discuss the future fabrication of such cells in Durham.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/635/12/122006

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The optical spectroscopy of rubidium atoms confined to a nanocell was employed to study the quenching and energy transfer processes in the course of atom-wall collisions. The distance between the sapphire windows of the cell varies between 150 and 500 nm forming a vapour wedge. At moderate pressures, the frequency of the atom-wall collisions greatly exceeds the frequency of atom-atom collisions. Hence, the line shapes and intensities recorded in a nanocell provide valuable information about interactions of excited atoms with the surface of the window material.
Alkali vapors confined in nano-scale cells are promising tools for future integrated atom-based sensor. In this thesis, we investigate the interaction between light and an ensemble of atoms confined in a nano-geometry. We focus on the different processes that can modify the optical response of the atomic ensemble and possibly affect the sensitivity of a sensor based on that technology. First, we study the non-local response of atoms to a light excitation due the atomic motion in thermal vapors. When the distance over which the atoms relaxes is larger than the size of the cell, the optical response depends on the size of the system. We have observed that for transmission spectroscopy, this leads to a periodic modification of the optical response with a period equal to the wavelength of the optical transition. Subsequently we showed that when the density of atom increases, the atomic response becomes local again. In this dense regime, the resonant dipole-dipole interaction in a sub-wavelength geometry leads to collective frequency shifts of the spectral lines. We demonstrate that these shifts were induced by the cavity formed by the cell walls, hence clarifying a long-standing issue. We developed a model to extract the density shifts deconvolved from the cavity effects. Close to a surface, the optical response is also affected by the van der Waals atom-surface interaction. We introduced a new method to extract precisely the strength of this interaction. We also developed a new generation of super-polished glass nano-cells and we presented promising spectroscopic signals. Finally, using these cells, we have compared transmission and off-axis spectroscopic techniques.