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IEEE/LEOS Summer Topical Meetings

Cold atoms in micromachined waveguides: a new platform for atom-photon interaction

Lucia Hackermüller

Published Jul 1, 2023• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We use atoms in micro-machined waveguides to demonstrate a new platform for atom-photon interactions. Such hybrid quantum devices are able to exploit the benefits of both, atoms and photons. Compact, robust atom-photon interfaces enable scalable architectures for quantum computing and quantum communication, as well as chip-scale sensors and single-photon sources.

DOI
10.1109/sum57928.2023.10224426

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We use atoms in micro-machined waveguides to demonstrate a new platform for atom-photon interactions. Such hybrid quantum devices are able to exploit the benefits of both, atoms and photons. Compact, robust atom-photon interfaces enable scalable architectures for quantum computing and quantum communication, as well as chip-scale sensors and single-photon sources.
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Development of technology can allow access to new regimes in science and creation of new fields of research. The development of ultra-high finesse mirror technology enabled the development of the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics, and an abundance of wonderful physics experiments soon followed. The sophistication of the field of nano-fabrication and nano-photonics would allow unprecedented capability to mold the shape and flow of light, and provide a novel platform for efficient and hopefully integrable quantum systems. In this project, we hope to interface cold atoms, perhaps the most quintessential of quantum systems, to the engineering power of nano-photonics. We believe this field of study will not only lead to the demonstration of new physics in the quantum regime, but work toward building a network with quantum capabilities mediated by optical channels. In this project, we develop a nano-fabricated platform capable of interfacing nano-photonic devices with cold Cesium atoms in free-space. Nano-photonic waveguide devices are fabricated in a Silicon Nitride device layer on Silicon substrate. The fabrication is compatible with conventional semiconductor fabrication processes, and the chip design has been adapted to allow incorporation with free-space optics to support cold Cesium atom cloud around the waveguides. An ultra-high vacuum system that is compatible to the chip and its supporting structures was constructed to perform experiments. With our system, we were able to fabricate and characterize nano-photonic structures, including 1D photonic crystal waveguides, cavities, and 2D photonic crystal slabs. For the 1D photonic crystal waveguide devices, enhanced atom-light coupling between localized Cesium atoms in the vicinity of the devices, and also atom-atom interaction between Cesium atoms mediated by the guided mode of the photonic crystal waveguide, has been observed. The 2D photonic devices allow us many capabilities beyond that of the 1D waveguide. Demonstration of exotic optical properties including natural decay rate suppression and circular polarization engineering, should be within reach in the near future.
We introduce a new direction in the field of atom optics, atom interferometry, and neutral-atom quantum information processing. It is based on the use of microfabricated optical elements. With these elements versatile and integrated atom optical devices can be created in a compact fashion. This approach opens the possibility to scale, parallelize, and miniaturize atom optics for new investigations in fundamental research and application. It will lead to new, compact sources of ultracold atoms, compact sensors based on matter wave interference and new approaches towards quantum computing with neutral atoms. The exploitation of the unique features of the quantum mechanical behavior of matter waves and the capabilities of powerful state-of-the-art micro- and nanofabrication techniques lend this approach a special attraction.
Cold atoms are very useful for a wide range of applications in quantum technologies. One property of neutral atoms that is of particular interest is their strong, coherent interactions with light. Interfacing cold atoms with integrated photonics is an area of key interest, to which we offer a solution utilising micro-scale through-holes in an optical waveguide. We trap about 400 atoms in our interaction region, achieving transmissions as low as 0.6%, corresponding to an optical depth of 1700/cm. Here I present 2 experiments done with cold atoms in this atom-photon interface. The first is a slow light experiment utilising electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We achieve a photon group velocity reduction of ∼ 105, a velocity of 2000 m/s. This phenomenon can also be used for photon memory, with applications in quantum computing and quantum communications. Work is currently being done to achieve this goal. The second experiment utilises Bayesian statistics to improve our estimation efficiency. We experimentally observe a 5-fold precision enhancement in our atom number estimates using the same number of measurements. Equivalently, we could achieve the same precision as our standard method using 1/3 as many measurements. This technique is not only useful for this experiment, but can be widely applied to many areas of quantum technologies.
Laser-cooled atoms are a key quantum medium for atomic clocks, precision metrology, and atom interferometers, and they hold strong potential to advance quantum technologies for position, navigation, and timing. Realizing this potential requires moving cold-atom systems beyond laboratory environments. Integrated photonic chips provide a path forward by improving reliability and reducing size, weight, and power consumption, enabling portable and compact quantum sensors for real-world applications. This review surveys recent progress in laser-cooled atomic platforms, with a focus on the key components that enable on-chip integration of cold-atom systems. We discuss on-chip laser stabilization and linewidth-narrowing techniques, enhanced photon–atom coupling at the chip scale, miniaturized high-vacuum chambers, and the integration of on-chip magnetic coils for cold-atom sensing. Together, these developments are critical to the deployment of chip-scale cold-atom devices in both fundamental atomic physics and practical sensing applications. We conclude with an outlook on next-generation integrated cold-atom platforms and their potential impact on quantum technologies.