Atom-Light Interactions in Photonic Crystals
physics.optics
/ Authors
A. Goban, C. -L. Hung, S. -P. Yu, J. D. Hood, J. A. Muniz, J. H. Lee, M. J. Martin, A. C. McClung, K. S. Choi, D. E. Chang
and 2 more authors
/ Abstract
The integration of nanophotonics and atomic physics has been a long-sought goal that would open new frontiers for optical physics. Here, we report the development of the first integrated optical circuit with a photonic crystal capable of both localizing and interfacing atoms with guided photons in the device. By aligning the optical bands of a photonic crystal waveguide (PCW) with selected atomic transitions, our platform provides new opportunities for novel quantum transport and many-body phenomena by way of photon-mediated atomic interactions along the PCW. From reflection spectra measured with average atom number N = 1.1$\pm$0.4, we infer that atoms are localized within the PCW by Casimir-Polder and optical dipole forces. The fraction of single-atom radiative decay into the PCW is $Γ_{\rm 1D}/Γ'$ = 0.32$\pm$0.08, where $Γ_{1D}$ is the rate of emission into the guided mode and $Γ'$ is the decay rate into all other channels. $Γ_{\rm 1D}/Γ'$ is quoted without enhancement due to an external cavity and is unprecedented in all current atom-photon interfaces.