Photonic chips that integrate guides, switches, gratings and other components, process vast amounts of information rapidly on a single device. A new branch of this technology becomes possible if the light is coupled to cold atoms in a junction of small enough cross section, so that small numbers of photons interact appreciably with the atoms. Cold atoms are among the most sensitive of metrological tools and their quantum nature also provides a basis for new information processing methods. Here we demonstrate a photonic chip which provides multiple microscopic junctions between atoms and photons. We use the absorption of light at a junction to reveal the presence of one atom on average. Conversely, we use the atoms to probe the intensity and polarisation of the light. Our device paves the way for a new type of chip with interconnected circuits of atoms and photons.
Utility of NISQ devices: optimizing experimental parameters for the fabrication of Au atomic junction using gate-based quantum computers
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology（东京农工大学）；The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo（东京大学医学科学研究所）；The University of Tokyo（东京大学）
