First paper published in Optica Quantum, four years in the making!
First paper published, four years in the making!
Most days, research feels like an endless whack-a-mole game: it’s easy to forget the score as you focus on tackling the next emerging problem. Today, I’m taking a moment to celebrate a few whacked moles in the form of my first paper, fresh off the press in Optica Quantum 🎉
In this work, we tackle a core challenge in quantum optics: interfacing photons (great information carrier) with cryogenic solid-state emitters (promising qubit systems). Open Fabry-Perot microcavities are amazing for this, but in practice they demand complex vibration isolation that limits their use in commercially available cryogenic systems.
To make open microcavity practical for a wide range of uses, we designed and demonstrated a compact assembly (1-inch footprint) that can withstand vibrations from typical commercial cryostats. We developed this platform with personal interest in mind: to study spin-photon(-phonon) interaction and cavity-mediated many-body interactions without needing a custom, vibration-free cryostat.
Conversations at conferences soon made it clear to me that many groups share the same practical barrier, which has limited the adoption of this otherwise powerful cavity platform. My hope is that this demonstration lowers that barrier, encouraging more use of open microcavities in existing cryostats, across many solid‑state emitters and coupling regimes. Even more exciting would be seeing this approach used for deterministic single‑photon sources and quantum interconnects (key quantum technology that Icarus Quantum is developing), as well as robust quantum nodes for networking, optical computing, and beyond.
This work could not have been done without my advisor Shuo and collaborators Poolad, Fateme, Zixuan, Kevin, and Richard, along with generous help from Natasha, Philip and others - thank you all!