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arXiv:physics/0608216 · Applied Optics

Fabrication of alignment structures for a fiber resonator by use of deep-ultraviolet lithography

Xiyuan Liu, Karl-Heinz Brenner, Marco Wilzbach, Michael Schwarz, T. Fernholz, Jörg Schmiedmayer

Published Nov 10, 2005• 19 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a novel method to mount and align an optical-fiber-based resonator on the flat surface of an atom chip with ultrahigh precision. The structures for mounting a pair of fibers, which constitute the fiber resonator, are produced by a spin-coated SU-8 photoresist technique by use of deep-UV lithography. The design and production of the SU-8 structures are discussed. From the measured finesses we calculate the coupling loss of the SU-8 structures acting as a kind of fiber splice to be smaller than 0.013 dB.

DOI
10.1364/ao.44.006857

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We present a novel method to mount and align an optical-fiber-based resonator on the flat surface of an atom chip with ultrahigh precision. The structures for mounting a pair of fibers, which constitute the fiber resonator, are produced by a spin-coated SU-8 photoresist technique by use of deep-UV lithography. The design and production of the SU-8 structures are discussed. From the measured finesses we calculate the coupling loss of the SU-8 structures acting as a kind of fiber splice to be smaller than 0.013 dB.
We present an inexpensive, simple, and robust method of making an optical fiber feedthrough for ultrahigh vacuum UHV systems. This system is particularly devoted for cold atom experiments. A drilled standard UHV DN16CF flange allows us to pass a fiber inside an UHV chamber. An optical ultraviolet UV curing adhesive is simultaneously used for holding the fiber through the flange and as a vacuum sealant. A vacuum down to 10−9 mbar is currently observed, while the optical insertion loss of the feedthrough is monitored and does not exceed 0.01 dB. In most of light-matter interaction experiments, laser light must pass through ultrahigh vacuum chambers. Although light beams can be propagated in free space through glass view-ports, more and more recent cold atom experiments use optical fibers to carry or collect light to or from a well defined area. This covers a wide variety of experiments such as atom-surface interactions or atomic samples guided inside hollow-core fibers. This kind of experiments requires continuous fibers through the vacuumatmosphere interface. A feedthrough for optical fiber based on a Teflon ferrule has been successfully demonstrated. However, this technique has several drawbacks. It requires a very high drilling precision, and as a consequence, must be accurately designed for a specific fiber diameter. As the ferrule must avoid any leaks, a constraint is applied to the fiber, which can induce birefringence and excess losses. Furthermore, as the polymer coating of the fiber ages under mechanical constraints, leaks might appear with time. We have developed a simple method to realize an optical fiber feedthrough completely free of those problems. It is based on a commercially available UV curing adhesive. The realization is easy and does not require accurate mechanical pieces. A multiple-fiber configuration is also achievable.
Micron scale silicon nitride (SiNx) microdisk optical resonators are demonstrated with Q=3.6×106 and an effective mode volume of 15(λ∕n)3 at near-visible wavelengths. A hydrofluoric acid wet etch provides sensitive tuning of the microdisk resonances, and robust mounting of a fiber taper provides efficient fiber optic coupling to the microdisks while allowing unfettered optical access for laser cooling and trapping of atoms. Measurements indicate that cesium adsorption on the SiNx surfaces significantly red detunes the microdisk resonances. Parallel integration of multiple (10) microdisks with a single fiber taper is also demonstrated.
Fiber Fabry–Perot cavities, formed by micro-machined mirrors on the end-facets of optical fibers, are used in an increasing number of technical and scientific applications, where they typically require precise stabilization of their optical resonances. Here, we study two different approaches to construct fiber Fabry–Perot resonators and stabilize their length for experiments in cavity quantum electrodynamics with neutral atoms. A piezo-mechanically actuated cavity with feedback based on the Pound–Drever–Hall locking technique is compared to a novel rigid cavity design that makes use of the high passive stability of a monolithic cavity spacer and employs thermal self-locking and external temperature tuning. Furthermore, we present a general analysis of the mode matching problem in fiber Fabry–Perot cavities, which explains the asymmetry in their reflective line shapes and has important implications for the optimal alignment of the fiber resonators. Finally, we discuss the issue of fiber-generated background photons. We expect that our results contribute toward the integration of high-finesse fiber Fabry–Perot cavities into compact and robust quantum-enabled devices in the future.
Fiber Fabry-Perot cavities, formed by micro-machined mirrors on the end-facets of optical fibers, are used in an increasing number of technical and scientific applications. Some of the most promising areas of application of these optical micro-resonators with high finesse and small mode volume are in the field of quantum communication and information. The resonator-enhanced light-matter interaction, for instance, provide basis for the realization of efficient optical interfaces between stationary matter-based quantum nodes and flying single-photon qubits. To date fiber Fabry-Perot cavities have been successfully applied in experiments interfacing single photons with a wide range of quantum systems, including cold atoms, ions and solid state emitters as well as quantum optomechanical experiments. Here we address some important practical questions that arise during the experimental implementation of high finesse fiber Fabry-Perot cavities: How can optimal fiber cavity alignment be achieved and how can the efficiency of coupling light from the optical fibers to the cavity mode and vice versa be characterized? How should optical fiber cavities be constructed and stabilized to fulfill their potential for miniaturization and integration into robust scientific and technological devices that can operate outside of dedicated laboratory environments in the future? The first two questions we answer with an analytic mode matching calculation that relates the alignment dependent fiber-to-cavity mode-matching efficiency to the easily measurable dip in the reflected light power at the cavity resonance. Our general analysis provides a simple recipe for the optimal alignment of fiber Fabry-Perot cavities and moreover for the first time explains the asymmetry in their reflective line shapes. The latter question we explore by investigating a novel, intrinsically rigid fiber cavity design that makes use of the high passive stability of a monolithic cavity spacer and employs thermal self-locking and external temperature tuning. The performance of this novel approach is compared to a more traditional, piezomechanically-actuated resonator that is feedback stabilized to a reference laser based on the Pound-Drever-Hall locking technique. Finally, with the application of single photon interfacing in mind we discuss the issue of fiber-generated background photons in Fiber Fabry-Perot cavities. We believe that, due to their simplicity, compactness and robustness, rigid fiber cavities could be a promising solution for miniaturized, integratable and scalable cavity quantum electrodynamic devices and further applications of FFPC with similar requirements.
We applied a recently developed fiber coupling technique to superconducting single photon detectors (SSPDs). As the detector area of SSPDs has to be kept as small as possible, coupling to an optical fiber has been either inefficient or unreliable. Etching through the silicon substrate allows fabrication of a circularly shaped chip which self aligns to the core of a ferrule terminated fiber in a fiber sleeve. In situ alignment at cryogenic temperatures is unnecessary and no thermal stress during cooldown, causing misalignment, is induced. We measured the quantum efficiency of these devices with an attenuated tunable broadband source. The combination of a lithographically defined chip and high precision standard telecommunication components yields near unity coupling efficiency and a system detection efficiency of 34% at a wavelength of 1200 nm. This quantum efficiency measurement is confirmed by an absolute efficiency measurement using correlated photon pairs (with λλλ = 1064 nm) produced by spontaneous parametric down-conversion. The efficiency obtained via this method agrees well with the efficiency measured with the attenuated tunable broadband source.
We describe a fiber ring resonator comprised of a relatively long loop of standard single-mode fiber with a short nanofiber segment. The evanescent mode of the nanofiber segment allows the cavity-enhanced field to interact with atoms in close proximity to the nanofiber surface. We report on an experiment using a warm atomic vapor and low-finesse cavity, and briefly discuss the potential for reaching the strong coupling regime of cavity QED by using trapped atoms and a high-finesse cavity of this kind.