Characterization of Suspended Membrane Waveguides towards a Photonic Atom Trap Integrated Platform

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel suspended membrane waveguide platform capable of supporting high optical powers suitable for trapping cold atoms, advancing integrated atom-photonics systems.

Contribution

Introduction of a photonic platform with suspended waveguides that support high optical power for atom trapping and integration with quantum systems.

Findings

Supports up to 30 mW optical power in un-tethered waveguides

Compatible with laser cooling and magneto-optical traps near the waveguides

Two novel thermal management designs enable high power handling

Abstract

We demonstrate an optical waveguide device, capable of supporting the high, in-vacuum, optical power necessary for trapping a single atom or a cold atom ensemble with evanescent fields. Our photonic integrated platforms, with suspended membrane waveguides, successfully manages optical powers of 6 mW (500 um span) to nearly 30 mW (125 um span) over an un-tethered waveguide span. This platform is compatible with laser cooling and magneto-optical traps (MOTs) in the vicinity of the suspended waveguide, called the membrane MOT and the needle MOT, a key ingredient for efficient trap loading. We evaluate two novel designs that explore critical thermal management features that enable this large power handling. This work represents a significant step toward an integrated platform for coupling neutral atom quantum systems to photonic and electronic integrated circuits on silicon.