2024/02/09 by Roni Ben-Maimon, Yakov Solomons, Ben-Maimon, Roni +7 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Photonic and Optical Devices #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Surface and Thin Film Phenomena
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2402.06839
openalex publication_date 2024/02/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We consider quantum light-matter interfaces comprised of multiple layers of two-dimensional atomic arrays, whose lattice spacings exceed the wavelength of light. While the coupling of light to a single layer of such a ``superwavelength" lattice is considerably reduced due to scattering losses to high diffraction orders, we show that the addition of layers can suppress these losses through destructive interference between the layers. Mapping the problem to a 1D model of a quantum interface wherein the coupling efficiency is characterized by a reflectivity, we analyze the latter by developing a geometrical optics formulation, accounting for realistic finite-size arrays. We find that optimized efficiency favors small diffraction-order angles and small interlayer separations, and that the coupling inefficiency of two layers universally scales as N-1 with the atom number per layer N. We validate our predictions using direct numerical calculations of the scattering reflectivity and the performance of a quantum memory protocol, demonstrating high atom-photon coupling efficiency. We discuss the utility of our technique for applications in tweezer atomic arrays platforms.