A Nanophotonic Quantum Phase Switch with a Single Atom (original) (raw)
2014, Frontiers in Optics 2014
In analogy to transistors in classical electronic circuits, a quantum optical switch is an important element of quantum circuits and quantum networks [1][2]. Operated at the fundamental limit where a single quantum of light or matter controls another field or material system[4], it may enable fascinating applications such as long-distance quantum communication , distributed quantum information processing[2] and metrology , and the exploration of novel quantum states of matter . Here, by strongly coupling a photon to a single atom trapped in the near field of a nanoscale photonic crystal cavity, we realize a system where a single atom switches the phase of a photon, and a single photon modifies the atom's phase. We experimentally demonstrate an atom-induced optical phase shift[8] that is nonlinear at the two-photon level[9], a photon number router that separates individual photons and photon pairs into different output modes[10], and a single-photon switch where a single "gate" photon controls the propagation of a subsequent probe field 12]. These techniques pave the way towards integrated quantum nanophotonic networks involving multiple atomic nodes connected by guided light.
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