Near-deterministic single-atom loading on a photonic integrated circuit
Authors: Xinchao Zhou, Ahreum Lee, Dipanjan Das, Saivirinchi Prabandhakavi, Chen-Lung Hung
Journal Ref: arXiv:2606.0780 (2026).
Abstract:
Coupling identical quantum emitters to a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a key step for scaling up emitter-photon interfaces for quantum science and information processing. Neutral atoms are attractive candidates due to their indistinguishability and controllability. However, experimental realizations of efficient atom trapping on a PIC while achieving strong single atom-photon coupling has so-far remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate near-deterministic single-atom loading on a microring resonator circuit, reaching single-atom cooperativity parameter C > 1 for strong coupling in cavity quantum electrodynamics. We utilize a precision optical conveyor belt, formed by a moving optical lattice in an optical tweezer, to steadily deliver trapped atoms onto a PIC. By continuously monitoring the transmission of probe photons through the circuit, which is sensitive to the proximity of single atoms near a microring resonator, we detect mean occupancy of 1.5 from 70 occupied lattice sites in a conveyor-belt transport of 4 nm position reproducibility. Based upon real-time feedback, we deterministically transfer the delivered atoms into a stationary trap on the microring, achieving 82% (18%) probability of single-(two-)atom transfer. Our technique can be extended to deterministic, highly efficient atom array assembly, providing a scalable route for neutral atom integration with PICs of complex functionalities.
