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Laser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control

Integrated optical control of atomic systems

Amit Kumar Agrawal

Published Mar 12, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate the versatility of dielectric metasurfaces as a compact, efficient and multifunctional platform to trap single atoms in a tweezer trap, and an ensemble of atoms in a magneto-optical-trap (MOT) for various AMO applications.
DOI
10.1117/12.3009359

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Cold atoms produced in magneto-optical traps (MOTs) have underpinned advances in emerging quantum technologies, including quantum computing, precision metrology, and fundamental physics. Grating-based MOT (gMOT), which employs a reflective diffraction grating to enable laser cooling from a single incident beam, offers a compact alternative to conventional six-beam MOTs. However, the inherent asymmetry of gMOT beam geometry can compromise the trapping stability and efficiency, particularly for atomic species with complex internal level structures. Here, we present a geometric-phase dielectric metasurface that simultaneously engineers the transmitted and diffracted wavefronts with desired polarization states, enabling full MOT operation under axial illumination using a single planar optical element. This metasurface-based architecture restores the symmetry in the trapping forces while preserving the compactness and simplicity of gMOTs. Using this approach, we demonstrate the trapping and cooling of cesium─an atomic species widely regarded as challenging for standard gMOT implementations─and analyze the trapping mechanism through numerical calculations. By providing independent control over key trapping parameters within a planar and alignment-simplified platform, this work establishes a route toward compact, robust, and species-flexible cold-atom systems, thereby expanding the applicability of miniaturized MOTs for integrated quantum technologies.
Magneto-optical traps (MOTs), indispensable to cold-atom-based quantum computing and quantum precision measurement, are increasingly desired in compact and stable form. Particularly, the six-beam 3D-MOT, distinguished by symmetric geometry and superior trapping performance, finds particularly broad applications. Conventional implementations, however, rely on complex and bulky free-space optics, hindering miniaturization, practical assembly, and long-term stability. Here, we demonstrate a compact six-beam 3D-MOT system that employs two multifunctional optical metasurface chips to implement the optical-field functionalities required for cooling and trapping atoms. By combining two metasurface chips and a vacuum cell, a photonic-integrated cell module (PICM) is implemented as the core assembly and the volume is only" 73*73*107 mm^3" . In success, 1.3 * 10^3 Rb atoms are trapped and cooled to the temperature of ~183 μK. It should be noticed that the laser beam is guided to the metasurface through optical fiber, thus such fully fiber-coupled architecture enables straightforward and stable operations. We believe that this work would pave a practical route toward compact and portable 3D-MOT.
Optical metasurfaces of subwavelength pillars have provided new capabilities for the versatile definition of the amplitude, phase, and polarization of light.In this work, we demonstrate that an efficient dielectric metasurface lens can be used to trap and image single neutral atoms with a long working distance from the lens of 3 mm.We characterize the high-numerical-aperture optical tweezers using the trapped atoms and compare with numerical computations of the metasurface-lens performance.We predict that future metasurfaces for atom trapping will be able to leverage multiple ongoing developments in metasurface design and enable multifunctional control in complex quantum information experiments with neutral-atom arrays.