INTERACTION OF LIGHT WITH ORDERED ARRAY OF RARE EARTH IONS IN SOLIDS
Creators: name: Nandi, Arindam
Publisher: name: Purdue University Graduate School
Year: 2022
Subjects: Atomic, molecular and optical physics not elsewhere classified
Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified
Quantum physics not elsewhere classified

description: Rare-earth ions in crystalline hosts have been identified as attractive media for quantum optical applications where record-high coherence times, quantum storage efficiency in solids, and quantum storage bandwidth have been demonstrated. Among rare-earth ions, Erbium uniquely possesses optical transitions at 1.5 micrometer region, making it suitable for integration with fiber telecommunication and silicon photonics. However, the intra-4f optical transitions are parity forbidden for rare-earth ions. Although, transitions are observed due to the interaction of the 4f valence electrons' energy levels with crystal fields or the lattice vibrations, the photon emission rate is prolonged for these ions. For example, Er<sup>3+</sup> excited state lifetime for 1530nm transition is around 10 ms, which is about a million times longer than the excited state lifetime of alkali atoms like cesium and rubidium. There have been some recent works showing enhanced emission rate of erbium ions by about 10<sup>3</sup> times by building a nano-photonic cavity to reach high Purcell factors. Our alternative approach to solving this problem is to use an ensemble of ions instead of a single ion to induce collective interactions in a suitable platform. In one experiment, we fabricated a SiN micro-ring resonator and implanted 10<sup>4</sup> isotopically pure <sup>168</sup>Er ions in narrow segments located precisely in solids. The segments are typically separated by 0.962nm corresponding to multiples of the wavelength of Er emission at 1520nm. And we showed that when the lattice of ions is commensurate with the wavelength of the light, the scattering loss caused by the other ions is reduced. We have demonstrated for the first time that how designing atomic geometries in a solid-state photonic system can reduce the radiative loss due to spontaneous emission of ions into other photonic channels. This phenomenon is analogous to the Borrmann effect seen in x-ray transmissions of crystals at the Bragg angle of incidence. We have also shown how the interference between the optical cavity mode and atomic Bragg mode generates Fano-type resonance features. We performed these measurements using erbium ions in the SiN host. The limitations such as low coherence time and large inhomogeneous broadening in this platform prohibit observing cooperative and quantum behavior. To improve the optical property of erbium ions and study other cooperative effects, we engineered an effective ion array in an Er-doped Yttrium Orthosilicate crystal which can exhibit higher coherence time and narrower inhomogeneous broadening compared to SiN. So, we used the spectral hole burning technique to make an atomic grating in randomly distributed Er ions inside YSO. Two counter-propagating pump pulses created a standing wave inside the crystal, which enabled the creation of spectral holes only near the antinode locations. At the same time, atoms near nodes remain in the ground state. Such atomic population grating behaved like an atomic array. We have seen coherent backscattering up to 20% of the incident probe from this atomic grating resembling a mirror. To increase the reflection efficiency, we tried to increase the ion concentration in the YSO crystal. But, at high concentrations, the dipole-dipole interaction increases the broadening and decoherence rates of the ions. To increase the optical density without increasing the ion concentration, we fabricated long waveguides in SiN and LiNbO<sub>3</sub> with rare-earth ions implanted inside.As a future direction, we are trying to increase the reflection efficiency from the atomic grating to the point where we can see atomic mirror-assisted light trapping. We are also trying to see long-range co-operative behavior from rare-earth ion-doped crystals and rare-earth ions implanted inside long waveguides. This can open possibilities of new quantum photonic device engineering for applications in scalable and multiplexed quantum networks.