No Arabic abstract
Space exemplifies the ultimate test-bed environment for any materials technology. The harsh conditions of space, with extreme temperature changes, lack of gravity and atmosphere, intense solar and cosmic radiation, and mechanical stresses of launch and deployment, represent a multifaceted set of challenges. The materials we engineer must not only meet these challenges, but they need to do so while keeping overall mass to a minimum and guaranteeing performance over long periods of time with no opportunity for repair. Nanophotonic materials -- materials that embody structural variations on a scale comparable to the wavelength of light -- offer opportunities for addressing some of these difficulties. Here, we examine how advances in nanophotonics and nanofabrication are enabling ultrathin and lightweight structures with unparalleled ability to shape light-matter interactions over a broad electromagnetic spectrum. From solar panels that can be fabricated in space to applications of light for propulsion, the next generation of lightweight and multifunctional photonic materials stands to both impact existing technologies and pave the way for new space technologies.
Quantum memories for light are important components for future long distance quantum networks. We present on-chip quantum storage of telecommunications band light at the single photon level in an ensemble of erbium-167 ions in an yttrium orthosilicate photonic crystal nanobeam resonator. Storage times of up to 10 $mu$s are demonstrated using an all-optical atomic frequency comb protocol in a dilution refrigerator under a magnetic field of 380 mT. We show this quantum storage platform to have high bandwidth, high fidelity, and multimode capacity, and we outline a path towards an efficient erbium-167 quantum memory for light.
Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides with direct bandgaps are emerging candidates for microelectronics, nano-photonics, and optoelectronics. Transferred onto photonic integrated circuits (PICs), these semiconductor materials have enabled new classes of light-emitting diodes, modulators and photodetectors, that could be amenable to wafer-scale manufacturing. For integrated photonic devices, the optical losses of the PICs are critical. In contrast to silicon, silicon nitride (Si3N4) has emerged as a low-loss integrated platform with a wide transparency window from ultraviolet to mid-infrared and absence of two-photon absorption at telecommunication bands. Moreover, it is suitable for nonlinear integrated photonics due to its high Kerr nonlinearity and high-power handing capability. These features of Si3N4 are intrinsically beneficial for nanophotonics and optoelectronics applications. Here we report a low-loss integrated platform incorporating monolayer molybdenum ditelluride (1L-MoTe2) with Si3N4 photonic microresonators. We show that, with the 1L-MoTe2, microresonator quality factors exceeding 3 million in the telecommunication O-band to E-band are maintained. We further investigate the change of microresonator dispersion and resonance shift due to the presence of 1L-MoTe2, and extrapolate the optical loss introduced by 1L-MoTe2 in the telecommunication bands, out of the excitonic transition region. Our work presents a key step for low-loss, hybrid PICs with layered semiconductors without using heterogeneous wafer bonding.
Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells are currently one of the most investigated concepts to overcome the theoretical limit for the power conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells. For monolithic tandem solar cells the available light must be distributed equally between the two subcells, which is known as current matching. For a planar device design, a global optimization of the layer thicknesses in the perovskite top cell allows current matching to be reached and reflective losses of the solar cell to be minimized at the same time. However, even after this optimization reflection and parasitic absorption losses occur, which add up to 7 mA/cm$^2$. In this contribution we use numerical simulations to study, how well hexagonal sinusoidal nanotextures in the perovskite top-cell can reduce the reflective losses of the combined tandem device. We investigate three configurations. The current density utilization can be increased from 91% for the optimized planar reference to 98% for the best nanotextured device (period 500 nm and peak-to-valley height 500 nm), where 100% refers to the Tiedje-Yablonovitch limit. In a first attempt to experimentally realize such nanophotonically structured perovskite solar cells for monolithic tandems, we investigate the morphology of perovskite layers, which are deposited onto sinusoidally structured substrates.
The realization of an efficient quantum optical interface for multi-qubit systems is an outstanding challenge in science and engineering. We demonstrate a method for interfacing neutral atom arrays with optical photons. In our approach, atomic qubits trapped in individually controlled optical tweezers are moved in and out of the near-field of a nanofabricated photonic crystal cavity. With this platform, we demonstrate full quantum control, efficient quantum non-destructive readout, and entanglement of atom pairs strongly coupled to the cavity. By encoding the qubits into long-lived states and employing dynamical decoupling, the entangled state is verified in free space after being transported away from the cavity. The combination of a compact, integrated optical link and entanglement transport paves the way for quantum networking with neutral atom quantum processors.
Current techniques of patterned material deposition require separate steps for patterning and material deposition. The complexity and harsh working conditions post serious limitations for fabrication. Here, we introduce a novel single-step and easy-to-adapt method that can deposit materials in-situ. Its unique methodology is based on the semiconductor nanoparticle assisted photon-induced chemical reduction and optical trapping. This universal mechanism can be used for depositing a large selection of materials including metals, insulators and magnets, with quality on par with current technologies. Patterning with several materials together with optical-diffraction-limited resolution accuracy can be achieved from macroscopic to microscopic scale. Furthermore, the setup is naturally compatible with optical microscopy based measurements, thus sample characterisation and material deposition can be realised in-situ. Various devices fabricated with this method in 2D or 3D show it is ready for deployment in practical applications. This revolutionary method will provide a distinct tool in material technology.