Microring resonators on a suspended membrane circuit for atom-light interactions

Abstract

The integration of cold neutral atoms with nanophotonic circuits offers significant potential as a light–mater interface for a wide range of applications ranging from studies of fundamental physics and quantum many– body physics to quantum networks. Here, we describe the design and realization of a novel platform where an efficiently–coupled microring photonic circuit on a chip is integrated with a cold atom system. This platform is fully compatible with laser cooling and trapping atoms, which allows for direct loading of cold atoms into an optical tweezer lattice formed on the microring circuit. Realizing strong atom–light interaction requires localizing atoms within the near field region of a whispering-gallery mode in a microring resonator. To this end, we estimate the positions of trapped atoms and consider a scheme to transport them to the closest site from the surface. This scheme can also be used for preparing for an array of individually trapped atoms. Such a platform holds promises for realizing a robust and scalable light–mater interface operating at individual quanta.