arXiv subjects

Paul E. Barclay

Publications and source records attributed to Paul E. Barclay.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

High frequency torsional motion transduction using optomechanical coupled oscillators

Using light to measure an object's motion is central to operating mechanical sensors that probe forces and fields. Cavity optomechanical systems embed mechanical resonators inside optical resonators. This enhances the sensitivity of optomechanical measurements, but only if the mechanical resonator does not spoil the properties of the optical cavity. For example, cavity optomechanical detection of resonators made from optically absorbing materials, or whose geometry does not possess suitable spatial symmetry, is challenging. Here we demonstrate a system that overcomes challenges in measuring high-frequency twisting motion of a nanodisk by converting them to vibrations of a photonic crystal cavity. Optomechanical readout of the cavity then enables measurement of the nanodisk's torsional resonances with sensitivity $5.1\times 10^{-21}-1.2\times 10^{-19}\,\text{Nm}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ for a mechanical frequency range of 5--800 MHz. The nanodisk can be outfitted with magnetic nanostructures or metasurfaces without affecting the optical properties of the cavity, making the system suitable for torque magnetometry and structured light sensing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Diamond Integrated Quantum Photonics: A Review

Integrated quantum photonics devices in diamond have tremendous potential for many quantum applications, including long-distance quantum communication, quantum information processing, and quantum sensing. These devices benefit from diamond's combination of exceptional thermal, optical, and mechanical properties. Its wide electronic bandgap makes diamond an ideal host for a variety of optical active spin qubits that are key building blocks for quantum technologies. In landmark experiments, diamond spin qubits have enabled demonstrations of remote entanglement, memory-enhanced quantum communication, and multi-qubit spin registers with fault-tolerant quantum error correction, leading to the realization of multinode quantum networks. These advancements put diamond at the forefront of solid-state material platforms for quantum information processing. Recent developments in diamond nanofabrication techniques provide a promising route to further scaling of these landmark experiments towards real-life quantum technologies. In this paper, we focus on the recent progress in creating integrated diamond quantum photonic devices, with particular emphasis on spin-photon interfaces, cavity optomechanical devices, and spin-phonon transduction. Finally, we discuss prospects and remaining challenges for the use of diamond in scalable quantum technologies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Nonlinear optics in gallium phosphide cavities: simultaneous second and third harmonic generation

We demonstrate the simultaneous generation of second and third harmonic signals from a telecom wavelength pump in a gallium phosphide (GaP) microdisk. Using analysis of the power scaling of both the second and third harmonic outputs and calculations of nonlinear cavity mode coupling factors, we study contributions to the third harmonic signal from direct and cascaded sum frequency generation processes. We find that despite the relatively high material absorption in gallium phosphide at the third harmonic wavelength, both of these processes can be significant, with relative magnitudes that depend closely on the detuning between the second harmonic wavelength of the cavity modes.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Demonstration of hybrid high-Q hexagonal boron nitride microresonators

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a wide bandgap van der Waals material that is emerging as a powerful platform for quantum optics and nanophotonics. In this work, we demonstrate whispering gallery mode silica microresonators hybridized with thin layers of epitaxially grown hBN that exhibit high optical quality factor $> 7 \times 10^5$. Measurements of the effect of hBN thickness on optical $Q$ and comparison with a theoretical model allows the linear optical absorption coefficient of the hBN films to be estimated. These high-$Q$ devices will be useful for applications in quantum and nonlinear optics, and their hybridized geometry provides a sensitive platform for evaluating losses in hBN and other 2D materials.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Tunable amplification and cooling of a diamond resonator with a microscope

Controlling the dynamics of mechanical resonators is central to many quantum science and metrology applications. Optomechanical control of diamond resonators is attractive owing to diamond's excellent physical properties and its ability to host electronic spins that can be coherently coupled to mechanical motion. Using a confocal microscope, we demonstrate tunable amplification and damping of a diamond nanomechanical resonator's motion. Observation of both normal mode cooling from room temperature to 80K, and amplification into self--oscillations with $60\,μ\text{W}$ of optical power is observed via waveguide optomechanical readout. This system is promising for quantum spin-optomechanics, as it is predicted to enable optical control of stress-spin coupling with rates of $\sim$ 1 MHz (100 THz) to ground (excited) states of diamond nitrogen vacancy centers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Processing light with an optically tunable mechanical memory

Mechanical systems are one of the promising platforms for classical and quantum information processing and are already widely-used in electronics and photonics. Cavity optomechanics offers many new possibilities for information processing using mechanical degrees of freedom; one of them is storing optical signals in long-lived mechanical vibrations by means of optomechanically induced transparency. However, the memory storage time is limited by intrinsic mechanical dissipation. More over, in-situ control and manipulation of the stored signals--processing--has not been demonstrated. Here, we address both of these limitations using a multi-mode cavity optomechanical memory. An additional optical field coupled to the memory modifies its dynamics through time-varying parametric feedback. We demonstrate that this can extend the memory decay time by an order of magnitude, decrease its effective mechanical dissipation rate by two orders of magnitude, and deterministically shift the phase of a stored field by over 2$π$. This further expands the information processing toolkit provided by cavity optomechanics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Two-colour interferometry and switching through optomechanical dark mode excitation

Efficient switching and routing of photons of different wavelengths is a requirement for realizing a quantum internet. Multimode optomechanical systems can solve this technological challenge and enable studies of fundamental science involving widely separated wavelengths that are inaccessible to single-mode optomechanical systems. To this end, we demonstrate interference between two optomechanically induced transparency processes in a diamond on-chip cavity. This system allows us to directly observe the dynamics of an optomechanical dark mode that interferes photons at different wavelengths via their mutual coupling to a common mechanical resonance. This dark mode does not transfer energy to the dissipative mechanical reservoir and is predicted to enable quantum information processing applications that are insensitive to mechanical decoherence. Control of the dark mode is also utilized to demonstrate all-optical, two-colour switching and interference with light separated by over 5 THz in frequency.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Quantum micro-nano devices fabricated in diamond by femtosecond laser and ion irradiation

Diamond has attracted great interest as a quantum technology platform thanks to its optically active nitrogen vacancy center (NV). The NV's ground state spin can be read out optically exhibiting long spin coherence times of about 1 ms even at ambient temperatures. In addition, the energy levels of the NV are sensitive to external fields. These properties make NVs attractive as a scalable platform for efficient nanoscale resolution sensing based on electron spins and for quantum information systems. Diamond photonics enhances optical interaction with NVs, beneficial for both quantum sensing and information. Diamond is also compelling for microfluidic applications due to its outstanding biocompatibility, with sensing functionality provided by NVs. However, it remains a significant challenge to fabricate photonics, NVs and microfluidics in diamond. In this Report, an overview is provided of ion irradiation and femtosecond laser writing, two promising fabrication methods for diamond based quantum technological devices. The unique capabilities of both techniques are described, and the most important fabrication results of color center, optical waveguide and microfluidics in diamond are reported, with an emphasis on integrated devices aiming towards high performance quantum sensors and quantum information systems of tomorrow

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Optomechanical Detection of Light with Orbital Angular Momentum

We present an optomechanical device designed to allow optical transduction of orbital angular momentum of light. An optically induced twist imparted on the device by light is detected using an integrated cavity optomechanical system based on a nanobeam slot-mode photonic crystal cavity. This device could allow measurement of the orbital angular momentum of light when photons are absorbed by the mechanical element, or detection of the presence of photons when they are scattered into new orbital angular momentum states by a sub-wavelength grating patterned on the device. Such a system allows detection of a $l = 1$ orbital angular momentum field with an average power of $3.9\times10^3$ photons modulated at the mechanical resonance frequency of the device and can be extended to higher order orbital angular momentum states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Optomechanically amplified wavelength conversion in diamond microcavities

Efficient, low noise conversion between different colors of light is a necessary tool for interfacing quantum optical technologies that have different operating wavelengths. Optomechanically mediated wavelength conversion and amplification is a potential method for realizing this technology, and is demonstrated here in microdisks fabricated from single crystal diamond--a material that can host a wide range of quantum emitters. Frequency up--conversion is demonstrated with internal conversion efficiency of $\sim$45% using both narrow and broadband probe fields, and optomechanical frequency conversion with amplification is demonstrated in the optical regime for the first time.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Two-axis cavity optomechanical torque characterization of magnetic microstructures

Significant new functionality is reported for torsion mechanical tools aimed at full magnetic characterizations of both spin statics and dynamics in micro- and nanostructures. Specifically, two orthogonal torque directions are monitored and the results co-analyzed to separate magnetic moment and magnetic susceptibility contributions to torque, as is desired for characterization of anisotropic three-dimensional structures. The approach is demonstrated through application to shape and microstructural disorder-induced magnetic anisotropies in lithographically patterned permalloy, and will have utility for the determination of important magnetic thin-film and multilayer properties including interface anisotropy and exchange bias. The results reflect remarkable sensitivity of the out-of-plane magnetic torque to the nature of small edge domains perpendicular to the applied field direction, and also contain tantalizing indications of direct coupling to spin dynamics at the frequency of the mechanics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Influence of nanostructuring on silicon vacancy center spins in diamond pillars

Color centers in diamond micro and nano structures are under investigation for a plethora of applications. However, obtaining high quality color centers in small structures is challenging, and little is known about how properties such as spin population lifetimes change during the transition from bulk to micro and nano structures. In this manuscript, we studied various ways to prepare diamond samples containing silicon vacancy centers and measured how population lifetimes of orbital states change in pillars as we varied their dimensions from approximately 1 $μ$m to 120 nm. We also researched the influence of the properties of the diamond substrate and the implantation and annealing methods on the silicon vacancy inhomogeneous linewidth and orbital lifetime. Our measurements show that nominally identical diamond samples can display significantly distinct inhomogeneous broadening. We observed weak indications that restricted vibrational modes in small structures may extend population lifetimes. However, imperfections in the crystal lattice or surface damage caused by etching reduce population lifetimes, especially in the smallest structures.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Air mode silicon nitride photonic crystals and their application to nonlinear quantum optomechanical sensing

Nanoscale photonic crystal cavity optomechanical devices enable detection of nanomechanical phenomena with a sensitivity sufficient to observe quantum effects. Here we present the design of a one-dimensional air-mode photonic crystal cavity patterned in a silicon nitride nanobeam, and show that it forms the basis for cavity optomechanical split-beam and paddle nanocavity devices useful for force detection and nonlinear quantum sensing. The air-mode of this device is advantageous for optomechanical coupling, while also having ultrahigh optical quality factor $Q_o\sim 10^6$ despite its proximity to the light-line and the relatively low refractive index of silicon nitride. Paddle nanocavities realized from this device have a quadratic coupling coefficient $g^{(2)}/2π$~=~10~MHz/nm$^{2}$, and their performance within the context of quantum optomechanics experiments is analyzed.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Measuring fluorescence into a nanofiber by observing field quadrature noise

We perform balanced homodyne detection of the electromagnetic field in a single-mode tapered optical nanofiber surrounded by rubidium atoms in a magneto-optical trap. Resonant fluorescence of atoms into the nanofiber mode manifests itself as increased quantum noise of the field quadratures. The autocorrelation function of the homodyne detector's output photocurrent exhibits exponential fall-off with a decay time constant of $26.3\pm 0.6$ ns, which is consistent with the theoretical expectation under our experimental conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first experiment in which fluorescence has been observed and measured by balanced optical homodyne detection.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

Realizing $Q$ > 300,000 in diamond microdisks for optomechanics via etch optimization

Nanophotonic structures in single--crystal diamond (SCD) that simultaneously confine and co-localize photons and phonons are highly desirable for applications in quantum information science and optomechanics. Here we describe an optimized process for etching SCD microdisk structures designed for optomechanics applications. This process allows the optical quality factor, $Q$, of these devices to be enhanced by a factor of 4 over previous demonstrations to $Q \sim 335,000$, which is sufficient to enable sideband resolved coherent cavity optomechanical experiments. Through analysis of optical loss and backscattering rates we find that $Q$ remains limited by surface imperfections. We also describe a technique for altering microdisk pedestal geometry which could enable reductions in mechanical dissipation.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2018

Hexagonal boron nitride cavity optomechanics

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is an emerging layered material that plays a key role in a variety of two-dimensional devices, and has potential applications in nanophotonics and nanomechanics. Here, we demonstrate the first cavity optomechanical system incorporating hBN. Nanomechanical resonators consisting of hBN beams with predicted thickness between 8 nm and 51 nm were fabricated using electron beam induced etching and positioned in the optical nearfield of silicon microdisk cavities. A 160 fm/$\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ sensitivity to the hBN nanobeam motion is demonstrated, allowing observation of thermally driven mechanical resonances with frequencies between 1 and 23 MHz, and mechanical quality factors reaching 1100 at room temperature in high vacuum. In addition, the role of air damping is studied via pressure dependent measurements. Our results constitute an important step towards realizing integrated optomechanical circuits employing hBN.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Modification of relaxation dynamics in Tb$^{3+}$:Y$_3$Al$_5$O$_{12}$ nanopowders

Nanostructured rare-earth-ion doped materials are increasingly being investigated for on-chip implementations of quantum information processing protocols as well as commercial applications such as fluorescent lighting. However, achieving high-quality and optimized materials at the nanoscale is still challenging. Here we present a detailed study of the restriction of phonon processes in the transition from bulk crystals to small ($\le$ 40 nm) nanocrystals by observing the relaxation dynamics between crystal-field levels of Tb$^{3+}$:Y$_3$Al$_5$O$_{12}$. We find that population relaxation dynamics are modified as the particle size is reduced, consistent with our simulations of inhibited relaxation through a modified vibrational density of states and hence modified phonon emission. However, our experiments also indicate that non-radiative processes not driven by phonons are also present in the smaller particles, causing transitions and rapid thermalization between the levels on a timescale of $<$100 ns.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Optomechanically induced transparency and cooling in thermally stable diamond microcavities

Diamond cavity optomechanical devices hold great promise for quantum technology based on coherent coupling between photons, phonons and spins. These devices benefit from the exceptional physical properties of diamond, including its low mechanical dissipation and optical absorption. However the nanoscale dimensions and mechanical isolation of these devices can make them susceptible to thermo-optic instability when operating at the high intracavity field strengths needed to realize coherent photon--phonon coupling. In this work, we overcome these effects through engineering of the device geometry, enabling operation with large photon numbers in a previously thermally unstable regime of red-detuning. We demonstrate optomechanically induced transparency with cooperativity > 1 and normal mode cooling from 300 K to 60 K, and predict that these device will enable coherent optomechanical manipulation of diamond spin systems.

physics.optics↗