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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 16: Poster: Quantum information, micromechanical oscillators, matter wave optics, precision measurements and metrology

Q 16.47: Poster

Montag, 17. März 2014, 16:30–18:30, Spree-Palais

Light switching mediated by a single atom — •Michael Scheucher, Christian Junge, Jürgen Volz, and Arno Rauschenbeutel — Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology, TU Wien - Atominstitut, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien, Austria

We experimentally investigate the interaction between single rubidium atoms and whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) bottle microresonators. These resonators confine light by continuous total internal reflection and offer the advantage of very long photon lifetimes in conjunction with near lossless in- and out-coupling of light via tapered fiber couplers. Recently, we discovered that the occurrence of non-transversal polarization of the light guided in WGM fundamentally alters the physics of light-matter interaction [1]. In particular, this effect enables us to perform single-atom-controlled light switching between two distinct optical fibers. We experimentally characterize the light routing performance of two different implementations: The direct switching of light between two tapered fibers coupled to the resonator [2] and the single-atom-controlled polarization rotation of the fiber guided light. Owing to the excellent optical properties of our bottle microresonator and the non-transversal polarization of its modes, both schemes yield high switching fidelities and low losses.

[1] C. Junge et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 213604 (2013)
[2] D. O’Shea et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 193601 (2013)