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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Trapping of Micro Particles in Nanoplasmonic Optical Lattice
Published on: September 5, 2017
Trapping single atoms on a nanophotonic circuit with configurable tweezer lattices
May E Kim1,2, Tzu-Han Chang1, Brian M Fields1
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
Abstract:
Trapped atoms near nanophotonics form an exciting platform for bottom-up synthesis of strongly interacting quantum matter. The ability to induce tunable long-range atom-atom interactions with photons presents an opportunity to explore many-body physics and quantum optics. Here we implement a configurable optical tweezer array over a planar photonic circuit tailored for cold atom integration and control for trapping and high-fidelity imaging of one or more atoms in an array directly on a photonic structure. Using an optical conveyor belt formed by a moving optical lattice within a tweezer potential, we show that single atoms can be transported from a reservoir into close proximity of a photonic interface, potentially allowing for the synthesis of a defect-free atom-nanophotonic hybrid lattice. Our experimental platform can be integrated with generic planar photonic waveguides and resonators, promising a pathway towards on-chip many-body quantum optics and applications in quantum technology.
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