Collective Interaction of Photons with Rare Earth Ions on a Photonic Chip

光粒子或光子是信息的理想载体，改变了我们交流的方式。量子信息的出现给了这些值得信赖的信使更多的光芒。通过对光的叠加、纠缠等量子特性进行编码，可以从根本上保证通信的安全性。然而，这种量子光信息非常脆弱，它的控制和路由给实现量子通信技术的社区带来了挑战。将光学信息映射到原子和原子之间是控制和同步微妙量子信息的一种方法。原子的选择、工程原子环境的技术和合适的映射协议都是研究开发有效的量子光学信息控制系统的重要方面。该项目旨在探索新的材料和协议，以开发用于光信息存储和控制的高效量子接口。为了控制量子光学信息，光需要与原子有效、相干地相互作用。由于光的波长比典型原子的尺寸大得多，两者之间的相互作用在自由空间中本质上是弱的。除了相互作用强度外，器件的可扩展性和小型化是量子光学器件的重要工程方面。稀土离子（如固态晶体中的铒离子）为电信波长的光学信息提供了独特的接口。本项目研究固体中铒离子的原子几何和环境工程在开发原子存储器以存储和同步光学信息方面的作用。通过在稀土晶体上设计周期性离子阵列和微纳米光子器件，该项目旨在探索用于量子光学信息生成和存储的集体光原子相互作用的新体制。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Title: Study of coherent interaction of light with arrays of rare-earth ions in crystalline micro photonic structures Light particles or photons are ideal carriers of information that have transformed the way we communicate. The advent of quantum information has given these trusted messengers more light to shine. By encoding peculiar quantum properties such as superposition and entanglement on light, the security of communication can be fundamentally guaranteed. Such quantum optical information is however very fragile and its control and routing possess challenges for the community implementing quantum communication technologies. Mapping optical information to and from atoms is one way to control and synchronize delicate quantum information. The choice of atoms, techniques for engineering atoms’ environment, and suitable mapping protocols are all important aspects of research pursued to develop effective systems for controlling quantum optical information. This project aims to explore new materials and protocols to develop an efficient quantum interface for optical information storage and control.To control quantum optical information, light needs to efficiently and coherently interact with atoms. As the light wavelength is much larger than the size of a typical atom, the interaction between the two is intrinsically weak in free space. Apart from the interaction strength, scalability and miniaturization of devices are important engineering aspects of quantum optical devices. Rare-earth ions such as Erbium ions in solid-state crystals provide a unique interface for optical information at the telecom wavelength. This project is studying the role of atomic geometry and environment engineering of Erbium ions in solids to develop atomic memories to store and synchronize optical information. By designing periodic ion arrays and micro-and nano-photonic devices on rare-earth crystals, the project aims to explore new regimes of collective light-atom interactions for the generation and storage of quantum optical information.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.