Project Description:

During the past decade, strong photon-photon interactions have been achieved by coupling single photons to strongly interacting Rydberg states. These interactions are key ingredients for deterministic all-optical quantum logic and all-optical devices such as single-photon switches and transistors. However, the detrimental dissipation associated with those interactions have been hindering the development towards practically useful schemes for quantum information processing. Our group investigates hybrid approaches to draw benefits from different systems and overcome the photon loss problem. Central to our experimental setup is an optical tweezer array projected from a digital micromirror device (DMD). We will load laser-cooled and trapped cold atoms, at a temperature of approximately 10 μk, to arrays of microtraps imaged from the DMD to the atomic position. These microtraps provide both trapping and sorting of individual atoms, leading to deterministic loading of one atom per trap. The student will help characterize the imaging system. This includes determining the smallest intensity feature achievable, assessing the communication speed between the computer and the DMD, and addressing potential issues such as speckles and fringes for optimization.

Requirements:

Passion for scientific research, problem solving skills,
and critical thinking.