Related papers: Demonstration of a memory for tightly guided light…
Tapered optical fibers with a nanofiber waist are versatile tools for interfacing light and matter. In this context, laser-cooled atoms trapped in the evanescent field surrounding the optical nanofiber are of particular interest: They…
We present experimental techniques and results related to the optimization and characterization of our nanofiber-based atom trap [Vetsch et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 203603 (2010)]. The atoms are confined in an optical lattice which is…
An experimental platform operating at the level of individual quanta and providing strong light-matter coupling is a key requirement for quantum information processing. We report on narrowband light storage and retrieval as well as…
While conventional optical trapping techniques can trap objects with submicron dimensions, the underlying limits imposed by the diffraction of light generally restrict their use to larger or higher refractive index particles. As the index…
A tapered optical nanofiber simultaneously used to trap and optically interface of cold atoms through evanescent fields constitutes a new and well controllable hybrid quantum system. The atoms are trapped in two parallel 1D optical lattices…
Single particle-resolved fluorescence imaging is an enabling technology in cold-atom physics. However, so far, this technique was not available for nanophotonic atom-light interfaces. Here, we image single atoms that are trapped and…
The integration of nanoscale electronics with conventional optical devices is restricted by the diffraction limit of light. Metals can confine light at the subwavelength scales needed, but they are lossy, while dielectric materials do not…
The development of optical nanofibers (ONF) and the study and control of their optical properties when coupling atoms to their electromagnetic modes has opened new possibilities for their use in quantum optics and quantum information…
Optical nanofibres are used to confine light to subwavelength regions and are very promising tools for the development of optical fibre-based quantum networks using cold, neutral atoms. To date, experimental studies on atoms near nanofibres…
We propose an optical dipole trap for cold neutral atoms based on the electric field produced from the evanescent fields in a hollow rectangular slot cut through an optical nanofibre. In particular, we discuss the trap performance in…
We experimentally demonstrate efficient interfacing of a large number of atoms to an optical nanofiber using an optical lattice with tunable spacing ($0.88-1.5~\mu$m) projected onto the nanofiber. The lattice beam and reflections from the…
We dispersively interface an ensemble of one thousand atoms trapped in the evanescent field surrounding a tapered optical nanofiber. This method relies on the azimuthally-asymmetric coupling of the ensemble with the evanescent field of an…
Recent progresses in Josephson-junction-based superconducting circuits have propelled quantum information processing forward. However, the lack of a metastable state in most superconducting artificial atoms hinders the development of…
The interaction between light and matter can be enhanced by spatially concentrating the light field to boost the photon energy density and increasing the photon dwell time to prolong energy transfer between light and matter. Traditionally,…
We demonstrate a memory for light based on optomechanically induced transparency. We achieve a long storage time by leveraging the ultra-low dissipation of a soft-clamped mechanical membrane resonator, which oscillates at MHz frequencies.…
High-density and ultracold atomic gases have emerged as promising media for storage of individual photons for quantum memory applications. In this paper we provide an overview of our theoretical and experimental efforts in this direction,…
We demonstrate experimentally a quantum memory scheme for the storage of weak coherent light pulses in an inhomogeneously broadened optical transition in a Pr^{3+}: YSO crystal at 2.1 K. Precise optical pumping using a frequency stable…
We propose a method to implement a quantum memory for light based on ensembles of two-level atoms. Our protocol is based on controlled reversible inhomogeneous broadening (CRIB), where an external field first dephases the atomic…
Optical nanofibres are increasingly being used in cold atom experiments due to their versatility and the clear advantages they have when developing all-fibred systems for quantum technologies. They provide researchers with a method of…
A nanofiber-based optical tweezer is demonstrated. Trapping is achieved by combining attractive near-field optical gradient forces with repulsive electrostatic forces. Silica-coated Fe$_2$O$_3$ nanospheres of 300 diameter are trapped as…