Cavity QED with arrays of microfabricated cavities
Jonathan Goldwin
Imperial College London, United Kingdom.
Abstract: We are performing experiments with neutral atoms in high-finesse microfabricated optical cavities. Each plano-concave resonator consists of an etched spherical mirror and a single mode optical fibre, allowing open access to the intra-cavity field mode. As a result of the fabrication process, 2D arrays of cavities can be reproducibly made with controllable spacing and with relative ease. Furthermore, the small mode volume leads to a large single-photon Rabi frequency, and light is conveniently coupled into and out of the cavities via the optical fibres. I will present measurements characterising the optical properties of the cavities, as well as our recent detection of atoms dropped from magneto-optically trapped clouds. Finally I will discuss a variety of potential technological improvements and applications exploiting the inherent scalability of the system, including future experiments involving quantum degenerate gases and small arrays of cavities.