Pol Forn-Díaz, California Institute of Technology
Abstract
Control of single atoms in optical cavities has attained exquisite levels of precision as demonstrated in several groundbreaking experiments in the last two decades. However, realizing complex quantum information science protocols would require a network of several light-matter interfaces, necessitating a scalable cavity architecture. Novel devices have recently been developed to this end, such as lithographically fabricated microtoroidal resonators, whose optical properties allow cavity QED experiments with cold atoms to be performed on a chip. In these experiments strongly coupled atoms interact with the cavity field only for a very short time, as no mechanisms for trapping atoms are employed. In this talk I will describe our recent efforts to trap atoms near the surface of a tapered nanofiber and to implement this trapping scheme near a microtoroidal resonator.