Coherent Interaction of Atoms with a Beam of Light Confined in a Light Cage
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Davidson-Marquis et al. Light: Science & Applications (2021) 10:114 Official journal of the CIOMP 2047-7538 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-021-00556-z www.nature.com/lsa ARTICLE Open Access Coherent interaction of atoms with a beam of light confined in a light cage Flavie Davidson-Marquis1,JulianGargiulo 2, Esteban Gómez-López 1, Bumjoon Jang 3,TimKroh 1, Chris Müller1, Mario Ziegler4,StefanA.Maier2,5,HaraldKübler 6, Markus A. Schmidt 3,7 and Oliver Benson1 Abstract Controlling coherent interaction between optical fields and quantum systems in scalable, integrated platforms is essential for quantum technologies. Miniaturised, warm alkali-vapour cells integrated with on-chip photonic devices represent an attractive system, in particular for delay or storage of a single-photon quantum state. Hollow-core fibres or planar waveguides are widely used to confine light over long distances enhancing light-matter interaction in atomic-vapour cells. However, they suffer from inefficient filling times, enhanced dephasing for atoms near the surfaces, and limited light-matter overlap. We report here on the observation of modified electromagnetically induced transparency for a non-diffractive beam of light in an on-chip, laterally-accessible hollow-core light cage. Atomic layer deposition of an alumina nanofilm onto the light-cage structure was utilised to precisely tune the high-transmission spectral region of the light-cage mode to the operation wavelength of the atomic transition, while additionally protecting the polymer against the corrosive alkali vapour. The experiments show strong, coherent light-matter coupling over lengths substantially exceeding the Rayleigh range. Additionally, the stable non-degrading performance and extreme versatility of the light cage provide an excellent basis for a manifold of quantum-storage and quantum- nonlinear applications, highlighting it as a compelling candidate for all-on-chip, integrable, low-cost, vapour-based photon delay. 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; Introduction generation12 and distillation13, quantum memories using In the rapidly growing field of hybrid quantum photo- cold14 or warm15 atoms, and quantum repeaters, in order nics, the realisation of miniaturised, integrated quantum- to achieve truly scalable networks16. optical systems with small geometric footprints and One promising approach for efficient light-matter intense light-matter interaction is of great importance for interaction relies on integration of light-guiding plat- – both fundamental and applied research1 8. Specifically, forms in near-room-temperature alkali vapour, as pre- the development of methods to reliably generate, control, sented in this work. Several research groups have aimed store and retrieve quantum states with high fidelity to integrate hollow-core photonic-crystal fibres (HC- – – through coherent interaction of light and matter, unveiled PCFs)17 22 or planar waveguides23 27 with atoms in a vast field of applications for quantum information and vapour cells. When coupled to atoms, nearly all photonic quantum networks such as optical switching9, photon structures, however, reveal distinct limitations imposed by routing with isolators10 or circulators11, entanglement their design: (i) HC-PCFs and on-chip hollow-core anti- resonant reflecting optical waveguides (ARROWs)28 are capillary-type structures that require vapour-filling times Correspondence: Tim Kroh ([email protected]) exceeding months for few centimetre long devices20,29. 1Department of Physics and IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany Waveguides with exposed evanescent fields partially 2Chair in Hybrid Nanosystems, Nanoinstitute Munich, Faculty of Physics, overcome this issue, while the limited spatial extend Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80539 Munich, Germany of the field (<1 µm) induces (ii) large decoherence, and Full list of author information is available at the end of the article These authors contributed equally: Flavie Davidson-Marquis, Julian Gargiulo, (iii) low atomic-vapour densities near the surfaces of the Esteban Gómez-López, Bumjoon Jang, Tim Kroh © The Author(s) 2021, corrected publication 2021 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a linktotheCreativeCommons license, and indicate if changes were made. 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Light: Science & Applications (2021) 10:114 Page 2 of 10 –10 104 a b h –12 D 894 nm 102 Ds –14 Light cage ARROW, fiber ARROW, Transmission (dB) Transmission –16 7 7 6 6 5 5 0 Transport time (days) Transport 10 600 700 800 900 10–6 10–4 10–2 Wavelength (nm) Representative length (m) c d 1.0 i EIT h p ′ 6sP F =4 1/2 F′=3 0.9 d 15 g hv e f c m) hvp μ 0 Transmission 0.8 s F=4 y ( 6 S1/2 F=3 –15 –15 0 15 –15 0 15 –0.5 0.0 0.5 μ x ( m) Freq. detuning (GHz) Fig. 1 Quantum-optically integrated light cage. a Sketch of the light cage (LC) enclosing a light beam (yellow) exposed to caesium (Cs) vapour (red spheres). Bottom inset: EIT Λ-scheme with probe (νp) & coupling fields (νc) and coherence dephasing γd of the F = 4 hyperfine state. Top inset: cross section of the LC geometry including design parameters (Ds = 3.6 μm, Λ = 7 μm, D = 28 µm, and 4.5 mm length). b Transmission spectrum of the Cs-cell-integrated LC in the visible–near-infrared with the Cs-D1 line (894 nm) in a leaky mode between cut-off frequencies of isolated strand 38,39 modes (dashed lines, blue: LP0x, red: LP1x). c Scanning-electron microscopic image of the LC front facet. d Side view of the sample, showing open spaces between strands. Simulated spatial field distributions, e within a transmission band (894 nm) and, f near a resonance (930 nm). g Measured output field pattern. h Improvement of filling time, revealed by plotting the transport time versus representative length. Three orders of magnitude faster filling is provided by the LC compared to capillary-type waveguides. (Details in Supplementary Section II.) i Example of a measured EIT spectrum waveguide30. It is possible to increase the optical density interaction. Here, we exploit in particular the properties of by using either tapered fibres in combination with cold the non-diffractive nature of the anti-resonant leaky mode atoms in cryogenic environments31 or light induced inside the hollow core41 with side-wise access over milli- atomic desorption (LIAD)29,32,33. Nonetheless, these metre distances, which essentially result in a cylindrical approaches induce an unwanted level of complexity, beam with an intensity distribution resembling a rod of especially when aiming for integrated applications. The light. Note that the non-zero power loss from the leaky LC infinite, diffraction-free ideal Bessel beam34 could also be mode prevents guidance over lengths exceeding tens of regarded as a candidate for extended light-matter inter- centimetres while, however, propagation across several action. In practice, however, the ideal case can only the- centimetres42, as recently demonstrated, is compatible oretically be reached and losses of intensity along the with applications such as the one presented in this propagation axis are to be expected35. It is also note- manuscript. The polymer structure consists of a ring of worthy that using a glass axicon to produce the Bessel high-aspect-ratio, micrometre-size strands circumscribing beam would induce chromatic aberration which in turn, a side-wise accessible hollow core (Fig. 1a, c, d). Imple- would require special adaptation in experiments at dis- mented by 3D nanoprinting43,44, the LC supports core tinct wavelengths36. Another concern when using Bessel modes via the anti-resonant effect and exhibits unique beams is their prominent lobes where a considerable features: (I) side-wise direct access to the hollow core proportion of the overall optical power is distributed through the interstices between the strands for high-speed across the outer rings, creating substantially different gas diffusion (Supplementary Section II and Fig. 1h), (II) intensities for light-matter interaction compared to the exceptionally high fraction of modal fields in the hollow central lobe. Moreover, to reach beam lengths of around section (99.9%, Fig. 1e), and (III) diffraction-less propaga- 20 mm37, bulky optical systems with transverse extension tion over millimetre distances. Moreover, the resistance of in the millimetre range would be required, rendering fibre LCs to corrosive substances was substantially improved via integration impracticable. nanofilm coating39, (IV) making the LC concept particu- To circumvent the drawbacks of conventional hollow- larly attractive for alkali vapour-based experiments. core waveguidance while maintaining a compact, easy-to- In this article, we demonstrate the peculiar coherent handle light-guiding structure, the recently introduced on- quantum-optical interaction between the light field in a – chip hollow-core waveguide—the light cage (LC)38 40— LC and room-temperature caesium (Cs) atoms by the was adopted as vessel for coherent light-matter observation of modified electromagnetically induced Davidson-Marquis et al. Light: Science & Applications (2021) 10:114 Page 3 of 10 transparency (EIT, example spectrum in Fig. 1i). Com- Observation of EIT in the light cage pared to other hollow-core waveguide structures, the LC Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) results uniquely provides low decoherence20 due to minimal from an interference effect in a three-level system45.