We report the experimental realization of an optical trap that localizes single Cs atoms ~215 nm from surface of a dielectric nanofiber. By operating at magic wavelengths for pairs of counter-propagating red- and blue-detuned trapping beams, differen
tial scalar light shifts are eliminated, and vector shifts are suppressed by ~250. We thereby measure an absorption linewidth Gamma/2pi = 5.7 pm 0.1 MHz for the Cs 6S1/2,F=4 - 6P3/2,F=5 transition, where Gamma/2pi = 5.2 MHz in free space. Optical depth d~66 is observed, corresponding to an optical depth per atom d_1~0.08. These advances provide an important capability for the implementation of functional quantum optical networks and precision atomic spectroscopy near dielectric surfaces.
Modern research in optical physics has achieved quantum control of strong interactions between a single atom and one photon within the setting of cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED). However, to move beyond current proof-of-principle experiments in
volving one or two conventional optical cavities to more complex scalable systems that employ N >> 1 microscopic resonators requires the localization of individual atoms on distance scales < 100 nm from a resonators surface. In this regime an atom can be strongly coupled to a single intracavity photon while at the same time experiencing significant radiative interactions with the dielectric boundaries of the resonator. Here, we report an initial step into this new regime of cQED by way of real-time detection and high-bandwidth feedback to select and monitor single Cesium atoms localized ~100 nm from the surface of a micro-toroidal optical resonator. We employ strong radiative interactions of atom and cavity field to probe atomic motion through the evanescent field of the resonator. Direct temporal and spectral measurements reveal both the significant role of Casimir-Polder attraction and the manifestly quantum nature of the atom-cavity dynamics. Our work sets the stage for trapping atoms near micro- and nano-scopic optical resonators for applications in quantum information science, including the creation of scalable quantum networks composed of many atom-cavity systems that coherently interact via coherent exchanges of single photons.
Single photons from a coherent input are efficiently redirected to a separate output by way of a fiber-coupled microtoroidal cavity interacting with individual Cesium atoms. By operating in an overcoupled regime for the input-output to a tapered fibe
r, our system functions as a quantum router with high efficiency for photon sorting. Single photons are reflected and excess photons transmitted, as confirmed by observations of photon antibunching (bunching) for the reflected (transmitted) light. Our photon router is robust against large variations of atomic position and input power, with the observed photon antibunching persisting for intracavity photon number 0.03 lesssim n lesssim 0.7.
