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

职务名称：晶体微光子结构中光与稀土离子阵列相干相互作用的研究光粒子或光子是理想的信息载体，改变了我们的通信方式。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、纠缠等奇特量子特性进行编码，可以从根本上保证通信的安全性。然而，这种量子光学信息非常脆弱，其控制和路由对于实现量子通信技术的社区具有挑战性。将光学信息映射到原子和从原子映射光学信息是控制和同步精细量子信息的一种方法。原子的选择、原子环境的工程技术和合适的映射协议都是开发控制量子光学信息的有效系统的重要研究方面。本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。为了控制量子光信息，光需要与原子有效和相干地相互作用。由于光波长远大于典型原子的尺寸，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，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。固态晶体中的稀土离子（如铒离子）为电信波长的光信息提供了独特的接口。本计画研究铒离子在固体中的原子几何与环境工程的角色，以发展原子记忆体来储存与同步光学资讯。通过在稀土晶体上设计周期性离子阵列和微纳光子器件，该项目旨在探索集体光原子相互作用的新机制，以产生和存储量子光学信息。该奖项反映了NSF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.