Integration of fiber coupled high-Q silicon nitride microdisks with atom chips

Abstract

Micron scale silicon nitride (SiN_x) microdisk optical resonators are demonstrated with Q = 3.6 x 10^6 and an effective mode volume of 15 (\lambda / n)^3 at near visible wavelengths. A hydrofluoric acid wet etch provides sensitive tuning of the microdisk resonances, and robust mounting of a fiber taper provides efficient fiber optic coupling to the microdisks while allowing unfettered optical access for laser cooling and trapping of atoms. Measurements indicate that cesium adsorption on the SiN_x surfaces significantly red-detunes the microdisk resonances. A technique for parallel integration of multiple (10) microdisks with a single fiber taper is also demonstrated.