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Alexander Huck

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander Huck.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Narrow-bandwidth sensing of high-frequency fields with continuous dynamical decoupling

State-of-the-art methods for sensing weak AC fields are only efficient in the low frequency domain (< 10 MHz). The inefficiency of sensing high frequency signals is due to the lack of ability to use dynamical decoupling. In this paper we show that dynamical decoupling can be incorporated into high frequency sensing schemes and by this we demonstrate that the high sensitivity achieved for low frequency can be extended to the whole spectrum. While our scheme is general and suitable to a variety of atomic and solid-state systems, we experimentally demonstrate it with the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond. For a diamond with natural abundance of $^{13}$C we achieve coherence times up to 1.43 ms resulting in a smallest detectable magnetic field strength of 4 nT at 1.6 GHz. Attributed to the inherent nature of our scheme, we observe an additional increase in coherence time due to the signal itself.

quant-ph↗

Qudi: a modular python suite for experiment control and data processing

Qudi is a general, modular, multi-operating system suite written in Python 3 for controlling laboratory experiments. It provides a structured environment by separating functionality into hardware abstraction, experiment logic and user interface layers. The core feature set comprises a graphical user interface, live data visualization, distributed execution over networks, rapid prototyping via Jupyter notebooks, configuration management, and data recording. Currently, the included modules are focused on confocal microscopy, quantum optics and quantum information experiments, but an expansion into other fields is possible and encouraged. Qudi is available from https://github.com/Ulm-IQO/qudi and is freely useable under the GNU General Public Licence.

quant-ph↗

Quantum enhanced feedback cooling of a mechanical oscillator

Laser cooling is a fundamental technique used in primary atomic frequency standards, quantum computers, quantum condensed matter physics and tests of fundamental physics, among other areas. It has been known since the early 1990s that laser cooling can, in principle, be improved by using squeezed light as an electromagnetic reservoir; while quantum feedback control using a squeezed light probe is also predicted to allow improved cooling. Here, we implement quantum feedback control of a micro-mechanical oscillator for the first time with a squeezed probe field. This allows quantum-enhanced feedback cooling with a measurement rate greater than it is possible with classical light, and a consequent reduction in the final oscillator temperature. Our results have significance for future applications in areas ranging from quantum information networks, to quantum-enhanced force and displacement measurements and fundamental tests of macroscopic quantum mechanics.

quant-ph↗

Coupling single emitters to quantum plasmonic circuits

In recent years the controlled coupling of single photon emitters to propagating surface plasmons has been intensely studied, which is fueled by the prospect of a giant photonic non-linearity on a nano-scaled platform. In this article we will review the recent progress on coupling single emitters to nano-wires towards the construction of a new platform for strong light-matter interaction. The control over such a platform might open new doors for quantum information processing and quantum sensing at the nanoscale, and for the study of fundamental physics in the ultra-strong coupling regime.

quant-ph↗

Enhanced DC-Field Metrology Using Nitrogen Vacancy Spins via Strong Collective Coupling and Fano-Scattering

Nitrogen-vacancy ensembles promise an unprecedented combination of sensitivity and resolution for magnetic field sensing under ambient conditions. However, their full sensing potential is limited by the inhomogeneous degradation of their collective coherence, while dynamical-decoupling limits sensing to the detection of AC-fields. Here we propose using the recently demonstrated cavity-protection effect for room-temperature, ensemble-based DC metrology. We identify a parameter space where strong-coupling can persist at room temperature and where the dressed states are limited solely by the dephasing of the cavity mode and the ensemble longitudinal relaxation, showing aT Hz$^{-\frac{1}{2}}$ DC-field sensitivities to be theoretically achievable with further augmentation through Fano-interference.

quant-ph↗

Increasing the photon collection rate from a single NV center with a silver mirror

In the pursuit of realizing quantum optical networks, a large variety of different approaches have been studied to achieve a single photon source on-demand. The common goal for these approaches is to harvest all the emission from a quantum emitter into a single spatial optical mode while maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio. In this work, we use a single nitrogen vacancy center in diamond as a quantum emitter operating at ambient conditions and we demonstrate an increased photon count rate up to a factor of 1.76 by placing a silver mirror fabricated on the end facet of an optical fiber near the emitter.

quant-ph↗

Coupling of single quantum emitters to plasmons propagating on mechanically etched wires

We demonstrate the coupling of a single nitrogen vacancy center in a nanodiamond to propagating plasmonic modes of mechanically etched silver nanowires. The mechanical etch is performed on single crystalline silver nanoplates by the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever to produce wires with pre-designed lengths. We show that single plasmon propgation can be obtained in these wires, thus making these structures a platform for quantum information processing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Propagation of plasmons in designed single crystalline silver nanostructures

We demonstrate propagation of plasmons in single crystalline silver nanostructures fabricated using a combination of a bottom-up and a top-down approach. Silver nanoplates of thickness around 65 nm and a surface area of about 100 μm^2 are made using a wet chemical method. Silver nanotips and nanowires are then sculptured by focused ion beam milling. The plasmons are excited by using the fluorescence from the redeposited silver clusters during the milling process. Propagation of plasmons in the nanowires is observed in the visible spectral region. We also observe a cavity effect by measuring the emission spectrum from the distal wire end.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Coupling of a Single Quantum Emitter to End-to-end Aligned Silver Nanowires

We report on the observation of coupling a single nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in a nanodiamond crystal to a propagating plasmonic mode of silver nanowires. The nanocrystal is placed either near to the apex of a single silver nanowire or in the gap between two end-to-end aligned silver nanowires. We observe an enhancement of the NV-centers' decay rate in both cases as a result of the coupling to the plasmons. The devices are nano-assembled with a scanning probe technique. Through simulations, we show that end-to-end aligned silver nanowires can be used as a controllable splitter for emission from a dipole emitter.

quant-ph↗

Continuous-wave spatial quantum correlations of light induced by multiple scattering

We present theoretical and experimental results on spatial quantum correlations induced by multiple scattering of nonclassical light. A continuous mode quantum theory is derived that enables determining the spatial quantum correlation function from the fluctuations of the total transmittance and reflectance. Utilizing frequency-resolved quantum noise measurements, we observe that the strength of the spatial quantum correlation function can be controlled by changing the quantum state of an incident bright squeezed-light source. Our results are found to be in excellent agreement with the developed theory and form a basis for future research on, e.g., quantum interference of multiple quantum states in a multiple scattering medium.

physics.optics↗

Controlled coupling of a single nitrogen-vacancy center to a silver nanowire

We report on the controlled coupling of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center to a surface plasmon mode propagating along a chemically grown silver nanowire. We locate and optically characterize a single NV-center in a uniform dielectric environment before we controllably position this emitter in the close proximity of the nanowire. We are thus able to control the coupling of this particular emitter to the nanowire and directly compare the photon emission properties before and after the coupling. The excitation of single plasmonic modes is witnessed and a total rate enhancement by a factor of up to 4.6 is demonstrated.

quant-ph↗

Quantum optical coherence can survive photon losses: a continuous-variable quantum erasure correcting code

A fundamental requirement for enabling fault-tolerant quantum information processing is an efficient quantum error-correcting code (QECC) that robustly protects the involved fragile quantum states from their environment. Just as classical error-correcting codes are indispensible in today's information technologies, it is believed that QECC will play a similarly crucial role in tomorrow's quantum information systems. Here, we report on the first experimental demonstration of a quantum erasure-correcting code that overcomes the devastating effect of photon losses. Whereas {\it errors} translate, in an information theoretic language, the noise affecting a transmission line, {\it erasures} correspond to the in-line probabilistic loss of photons. Our quantum code protects a four-mode entangled mesoscopic state of light against erasures, and its associated encoding and decoding operations only require linear optics and Gaussian resources. Since in-line attenuation is generally the strongest limitation to quantum communication, much more than noise, such an erasure-correcting code provides a new tool for establishing quantum optical coherence over longer distances. We investigate two approaches for circumventing in-line losses using this code, and demonstrate that both approaches exhibit transmission fidelities beyond what is possible by classical means.

quant-ph↗

Correlation Measurement of Squeezed Light

We study the implementation of a correlation measurement technique for the characterization of squeezed light which is nearly free of electronic noise. With two different sources of squeezed light, we show that the sign of the covariance coefficient, revealed from the time resolved correlation data, is witnessing the presence of squeezing in the system. Furthermore, we estimate the degree of squeezing using the correlation method and compare it to the standard homodyne measurement scheme. We show that the role of electronic detector noise is minimized using the correlation approach as opposed to homodyning where it often becomes a crucial issue.

quant-ph↗

Demonstration of Quadrature Squeezed Surface-Plasmons in a Gold Waveguide

We report on the efficient generation, propagation, and re-emission of squeezed long-range surface-plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a gold waveguide. Squeezed light is used to excite the non-classical SPPs and the re-emitted quantum state is fully quantum characterized by complete tomographic reconstruction of the density matrix. We find that the plasmon-assisted transmission of non-classical light in metallic waveguides can be described by a Hamiltonian analogue to a beam splitter. This result is explained theoretically.

quant-ph↗

Observation of spatial quantum correlations induced by multiple scattering of non-classical light

We present the experimental realization of spatial quantum correlations of photons that are induced by multiple scattering of squeezed light. The quantum correlation relates photons propagating along two different light trajectories through the random medium and is infinite in range. Both positive and negative spatial quantum correlations are observed when varying the quantum state incident to the multiple scattering medium, and the magnitude of the correlations is controlled by the number of photons. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with recent theoretical proposals by implementing the full quantum model of multiple scattering.

quant-ph↗

Demonstration of a quantum nondemolition sum gate

The sum gate is the canonical two-mode gate for universal quantum computation based on continuous quantum variables. It represents the natural analogue to a qubit C-NOT gate. In addition, the continuous-variable gate describes a quantum nondemolition (QND) interaction between the quadrature components of two light fields. We experimentally demonstrate a QND sum gate, employing the scheme by R. Filip, P. Marek, and U.L. Andersen [\pra {\bf 71}, 042308 (2005)], solely based on offline squeezed states, homodyne measurements, and feedforward. The results are verified by simultaneously satisfying the criteria for QND measurements in both conjugate quadratures.

quant-ph↗

Electronic noise-free measurements of squeezed light

We study the implementation of a correlation measurement technique for the characterization of squeezed light. We show that the sign of the covariance coefficient revealed from the time resolved correlation data allow us to distinguish between squeezed, coherent and thermal states. In contrast to the traditional method of characterizing squeezed light, involving measurement of the variation of the difference photocurrent, the correlation measurement method allows to eliminate the contribution of the electronic noise, which becomes a crucial issue in experiments with dim sources of squeezed light.

quant-ph↗

Demonstration of deterministic and high fidelity squeezing of quantum information

By employing at recent proposal (R. Filip, P. Marek and U.L. Andersen, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 71}, 042308 (2005) \cite{Filip05.pra}), we experimentally demonstrate a universal, deterministic and high-fidelity squeezing transformation of an optical field. It relies only on linear optics, homodyne detection, feedforward and an ancillary squeezed vacuum state, thus direct interaction between a strong pump and the quantum state is circumvented. We demonstrate three different squeezing levels for a coherent state input. This scheme is highly suitable for the fault-tolerant squeezing transformation in a continuous variable quantum computer.

quant-ph↗