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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

Perforated Hollow-Core Waveguide Devices for Atomic Spectroscopy with Alkali Vapor

Matthieu Giraud-Carrier, Trevor K. Decker, Aaron R. Hawkins, Jennifer A. Black, Holger Schmidt

Published Jan 1, 2016• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A novel design for hollow-core waveguide devices suitable for atomic spectroscopy is presented. Distributed vapor delivery via etched holes overcomes alkali vapor transport challenges, resulting in strong light absorption in rubidium with excellent environmental stability.
DOI
10.1364/cleo_at.2016.jth2a.32

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A hollow-core waveguide structure for on-chip atomic spectroscopy is presented. The devices are based on Anti-Resonant Reflecting Optical Waveguides and may be used for a wide variety of applications which rely on the interaction of light with gases and vapors. The designs presented here feature short delivery paths of the atomic vapor into the hollow waveguide. They also have excellent environmental stability by incorporating buried solid-core waveguides to deliver light to the hollow cores. Completed chips were packaged with an Rb source and the F = 3 ≥ F′ = 2, 3, 4 transitions of the D2 line in 85Rb were monitored for optical absorption. Maximum absorption peak depths of 9% were measured.
Atomic vapors of alkali metals are widely used to slow and stop light in tabletop experiments. In order to take advantage of the underlying quantum interference effects in future commercial devices, highly reactive alkali atoms must be incorporated into small volumes with integrated optical access. With integration in mind, we describe the development of a hollow-core waveguide technology based on the combination of vapor-filled hollow waveguides and conventional solid-core waveguides on a silicon chip. We discuss the underlying principles of the waveguide design, the development of different approaches to building on-chip vapor cells, the demonstration of linear and nonlinear rubidium spectroscopy on a chip, and the prospects for quantum interference effects such as slow light and giant Kerr nonlinearities using this approach. Ultrasmall active vapor volumes on the order of 100 picoliters with simultaneously high optical density in excess of two illustrate the potential of planar hollow-core waveguides for linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy of atoms confined on a chip.
The focus of this work is the integration of alkali vapor atomic vapor cells into common silicon wafer microfabrication processes. Such integrated platforms enable the study of quantum coherence effects such as electromagnetically induced transparency, which can in turn be used to demonstrate slow light. Slow and stopped light devices have applications in the optical communications and quantum computing fields. This project uses hollow core anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguides (ARROWs) to build such slow light devices. An explanation of light-matter interactions and the physics of slow light is first provided, as well as a detailed overview of the fabrication process. Following the discovery of a vapor transport issue, a custom capillary-based testing platform is developed to quantify the effect of confinement, temperature, and wall coatings on rubidium transport. A mathematical model is derived from the experimental results and predicts long transport times. A new design methodology is presented that addresses the transport problem by increasing the number of rubidium entry points. This design also improves chip durability and decreases environmental susceptibility through the use of a single copper reservoir and buried channel waveguides (BCWs). New chips are successfully fabricated, loaded, and monitored for rubidium spectra. Absorption is observed in several chips and absorption peaks depths in excess of 10% are reported. The chip lifetime remains comparable to previous designs. This new design can be expanded to a multi-core platform suitable for slow and stopped light experimentation.
Atomic spectroscopy relies on photons to probe the energy states of atoms, typically in a gas state. In addition to providing fundamental scientific information, this technique can be applied to a number of photonic devices including atomic clocks, laser stabilization references, slow light elements, and eventually quantum communications components. Atomic spectroscopy has classically been done using bulk optics and evacuated transparent vapor cells. Recently, a number of methods have been introduced to dramatically decrease the size of atomic spectroscopy systems by integrating optical functionality. We review three of these techniques including: 1) photonic crystal fiber based experiments, 2) wafer bonded mini-cells containing atomic vapors and integrated with lasers and detectors, and 3) hollow waveguides containing atomic vapors fabricated on silicon substrates. In the context of silicon photonics, we will emphasize the hollow waveguide platform. At the heart of these devices is the anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW). ARROW fabrication techniques will be described for both hollow and solid core designs. Solid-core waveguides are necessary to direct light on and off the silicon chip while confining atomic vapors to hollow-core waveguides. We will also discuss the methods and challenges of attaching rubidium vapor reservoirs to the chip. Experimental results for optical spectroscopy of rubidium atoms on a chip will be presented.
Recent demonstrations of light-matter interactions with atoms and molecules confined to hollow waveguides offer great promise for ultralow-light-level applications. The use of waveguides allows for tight optical confinement over interaction lengths much greater than what could be achieved in bulk geometries. However, the combination of strong atom-photon interactions and nonuniformity of guided light modes gives rise to spectroscopic features that must be understood in order to take full advantage of the properties of such systems. We use light-induced atomic desorption to generate an optically dense Rb vapor at room temperature inside a hollow-core photonic band-gap fiber. Saturable-absorption spectroscopy and passive slow-light experiments reveal large ac Stark shifts, power broadening, and transit-time broadening, that are present in this system even at nanowatt powers.