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Laser & Photonics Review

Chip Scale Emission of Blue Light at Elevated Temperatures in Optical Waveguides Integrated With Rubidium Vapor

Arieh Grosman, Ilan Sher, Roy Zektzer, Noa Mazurski, Uriel Levy

Published Sep 21, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

ABSTRACT Blue light emission from Rubidium (Rb) vapor cells is attractive for a myriad of applications, from quantum sensing and metrology to communication, quantum memories, and more. Typically, such emissions are observed from bulky free‐space glass cells. Here we experimentally demonstrate the generation of blue light from a chip‐scale optical waveguide integrated with rubidium vapor. The atomic ladder excitation using a combination of 780 and 776 nm light propagates through the Atomic Clad Waveguide (ACWG), directly interacting with Rubidium, emitting a photon at 420 nm and a matching photon at 5233 nm. The blue light emission is characterized and measured at elevated temperatures, up to 240°C. The results show a peculiar dependency of emission intensity as a function of temperature, wherein the emission intensity monotonically increases up to 200°C, followed by a pronounced roll‐off at higher temperatures. This is explained by a model that considers the reabsorption of emitted blue photons propagating along the optically thick Rubidium vapor. These results demonstrate a viable pathway for integrating nonlinear atomic vapor processes into chip‐scale quantum devices.

DOI
10.1002/lpor.71931

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ABSTRACT Blue light emission from Rubidium (Rb) vapor cells is attractive for a myriad of applications, from quantum sensing and metrology to communication, quantum memories, and more. Typically, such emissions are observed from bulky free‐space glass cells. Here we experimentally demonstrate the generation of blue light from a chip‐scale optical waveguide integrated with rubidium vapor. The atomic ladder excitation using a combination of 780 and 776 nm light propagates through the Atomic Clad Waveguide (ACWG), directly interacting with Rubidium, emitting a photon at 420 nm and a matching photon at 5233 nm. The blue light emission is characterized and measured at elevated temperatures, up to 240°C. The results show a peculiar dependency of emission intensity as a function of temperature, wherein the emission intensity monotonically increases up to 200°C, followed by a pronounced roll‐off at higher temperatures. This is explained by a model that considers the reabsorption of emitted blue photons propagating along the optically thick Rubidium vapor. These results demonstrate a viable pathway for integrating nonlinear atomic vapor processes into chip‐scale quantum devices.
The exceptional nonlinearity of alkali-metal vapors enables highly efficient nonlinear optical processes even at relatively low optical intensities. However, such processes have traditionally relied on centimeter-scale vapor cells. Here, we utilize a versatile chip-scale Rb vapor platform to generate coherent blue and mid-IR light in continuous-wave mode by means of resonant four-wave mixing. Optimized optical overlap with the atomic medium enables blue light generation of $\sim$20 μμμW over a very short interaction length, while maintaining a directly measured linewidth of $\sim$1 MHz, which is presently limited by the measurement apparatus. Comparison with a conventional glassblown vapor cell further shows that the micromachined platform can achieve higher coherent blue-light generation efficiency despite its substantially shorter interaction length. Moreover, an anodically bonded Si window enables to detect coherent mid-IR emission with collected powers of $\sim$50 nW. We further characterize the temperature dependence and input-power scaling of the blue emission, confirming efficient nonlinear conversion within these compact vapor cells. This chip-scale platform provides a versatile foundation for a range of nonlinear optical functions, from precise wavelength references and quantum light sources to next-generation quantum sensors.
Integrating alkali atomic vapors with nanophotonic devices offers a scalable route to quantum technologies that leverage strong atom–photon interactions. While there have been many approaches to such integration, the general reliance on traditional glass vapor cells, distilled alkali metals, and epoxy sealing limits reproducibility and scalability. Moreover, mitigating adverse Rb-photonics interactions is essential, particularly as devices become more compact and the alkali source lies in close proximity to the photonic elements. Here, we demonstrate the successful operation of compact and fully integrated devices that combine silicon nitride photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with microfabricated borosilicate vapor cells and pill-type rubidium (Rb) dispensers through hermetic seals via anodic bonding. We show how successful operation hinges on optically activating the dispenser in a low-power pulsed mode, releasing controlled amounts of Rb vapor on demand while mitigating photonic degradation. Simultaneously, a counter-propagating desorption laser completely suppresses Rb-induced losses and enables waveguide-based atomic vapor spectroscopy. Using this approach, we demonstrate repeatable control of vapor density by tuning activation pulse length, duty cycle, and device temperature. These results establish a compact, manufacturable, and scalable vapor–PIC device, and set the stage for future demonstrations in cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum nonlinear optics, and chip-scale atomic sensors.
Integrating alkali atomic vapors with nanophotonic devices offers a scalable route to quantum technologies that leverage strong atom-photon interactions. While there have been many approaches to such integration, the general reliance on traditional glass vapor cells, distilled alkali metals, and epoxy sealing limits reproducibility and scalability. Moreover, mitigating adverse Rb-photonics interactions is essential, particularly as devices become more compact and the alkali source lies in close proximity to the photonic elements. Here, we demonstrate the successful operation of compact and fully integrated devices that combine silicon nitride photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with microfabricated borosilicate vapor cells and pill-type rubidium (Rb) dispensers through hermetic seals via anodic bonding. We show how successful operation hinges on optically activating the dispenser in a low-power pulsed mode, releasing controlled amounts of Rb vapor on demand while mitigating photonic degradation. Simultaneously, a counter-propagating desorption laser completely suppresses Rb-induced losses and enables waveguide-based atomic vapor spectroscopy. Using this approach, we demonstrate repeatable control of vapor density by tuning activation pulse length, duty cycle, and device temperature. These results establish a compact, manufacturable, and scalable vapor-PIC device, and set the stage for future demonstrations in cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum nonlinear optics, and chip-scale atomic sensors.
Alkali vapours, such as rubidium, are being used extensively in several important fields of research such as slow and stored light nonlinear optics quantum computation, atomic clocks and magnetometers. Recently, there is a growing effort towards miniaturizing traditional centimetre-size vapour cells. Owing to the significant reduction in device dimensions, light–matter interactions are greatly enhanced, enabling new functionalities due to the low power threshold needed for nonlinear interactions. Here, taking advantage of the mature platform of silicon photonics, we construct an efficient and flexible platform for tailored light–vapour interactions on a chip. Specifically, we demonstrate light–matter interactions in an atomic cladding waveguide, consisting of a silicon nitride nano-waveguide core with a rubidium vapour cladding. We observe the efficient interaction of the electromagnetic guided mode with the rubidium cladding and show that due to the high confinement of the optical mode, the rubidium absorption saturates at powers in the nanowatt regime. Alkali vapours are increasingly useful in photonic research and metrology applications, and they provide a useful test bed for investigating light–matter interaction. Stern et al. integrate silicon nitride waveguides with alkali vapours to study light–matter interactions on a chip-scale platform.
We report on the micro-fabrication and characterization of a chip-scale plasma light source based on a Rubidium (Rb) vapor cell. The Rb plasma light source is intended for use as an integrated optical pump-light source in miniature double-resonance Rb atomic clocks. The RF plasma is capacitively coupled using external electrodes, and the light source is impedance matched to the source for frequencies between 1 and 36 MHz. Rb vapor cells have been previously developed as reference cells for atomic clocks but not as light sources. This is the first reported Rb plasma emitted from a chip-scale device. Stable light emission is observed for over 18 days.