Trapping single atoms on a nanophotonic circuit with configurable tweezer lattices
Authors: May E. Kim, Tzu-Han Chang, Brian M. Fields, Cheng-An Chen, Chen-Lung Hung
Journal Ref: Nature Communications 10, 1647 (2019)
Abstract:
Trapped atoms near nanophotonics form an exciting new platform for bottom-up synthesis of strongly interacting quantum matters. The ability to induce tunable long-range atom-atom interactions with photons presents a novel opportunity to explore many-body physics and quantum optics. Integrating cold atoms with nanophotonic platforms has so far been restricted to discrete, suspended structures of quasi-linear geometry. Single atom manipulation and direct imaging on nanostructures also remains elusive. Migrating cold atoms to a planar photonic geometry may offer a wide variety of quantum functionalities with engineered photonic transport and scalability. Here, by implementing a configurable optical tweezer array over a photonic circuit tailored for cold atom integration and control, we report trapping and high-fidelity imaging of single atoms directly on a planar photonic circuit. Using an optical conveyor belt formed by a moving optical lattice within a tweezer potential, we show that single atoms can be transported from a reservoir into close proximity of a photonic interface, potentially allowing for the synthesis of a defect-free atom-nanophotonic hybrid lattice. Our experimental platform can be integrated with generic planar photonic waveguides and resonators, promising a pathway towards on-chip many-body quantum optics and new applications in quantum technology.
