Benjamin Besga

A universal and ultrasensitive vectorial nanomechanical sensor for imaging 2D force fields

The miniaturization of force probes into nanomechanical oscillators enables ultrasensitive investigations of forces on dimensions smaller than their characteristic length scales. It also unravels the vectorial character of the force field and how its topology impacts the measurement. Here we present an ultrasensitive method for imaging two-dimensional vectorial force fields by optomechanically following the bidimensional Brownian motion of a singly clamped nanowire. This approach relies on angular and spectral tomography of its quasi-frequency-degenerated transverse mechanical polarizations: immersing the nanoresonator in a vectorial force field not only shifts its eigenfrequencies but also rotates the orientation of the eigenmodes, as a nanocompass. This universal method is employed to map a tunable electrostatic force field whose spatial gradients can even dominate the intrinsic nanowire properties. Enabling vectorial force field imaging with demonstrated sensitivities of attonewton variations over the nanoprobe Brownian trajectory will have a strong impact on scientific exploration at the nanoscale.Miniaturization of force probes into nanomechanical oscillators enables ultrasensitive investigations of forces on dimensions smaller than their characteristic length scale. Meanwhile it also unravels the force field vectorial character and how its topology impacts the measurement. Here we expose an ultrasensitive method to image 2D vectorial force fields by optomechanically following the bidimensional Brownian motion of a singly clamped nanowire. This novel approach relies on angular and spectral tomography of its quasi frequency-degenerated transverse mechanical polarizations: immersing the nanoresonator in a vectorial force field does not only shift its eigenfrequencies but also rotate eigenmodes orientation as a nano-compass. This universal method is employed to map a tunable electrostatic force field whose spatial gradients can even take precedence over the intrinsic nanowire properties. Enabling vectorial force fields imaging with demonstrated sensitivities of attonewton variations over the nanoprobe Brownian trajectory will have strong impact on scientific exploration at the nanoscale.

Cavity quantum electrodynamics with charge-controlled quantum dots coupled to a fiber Fabry–Perot cavity

We demonstrate non-perturbative coupling between a single self-assembled InGaAs quantum dot and an external fiber-mirror-based microcavity. Our results extend the previous realizations of tunable microcavities while ensuring spatial and spectral overlap between the cavity mode and the emitter by simultaneously allowing for deterministic charge control of the quantum dots. Using resonant spectroscopy, we show that the coupled quantum dot cavity system is at the onset of strong coupling, with a cooperativity parameter of C ≈ 2.0 ± 1.3. Our results constitute a milestone in the progress toward the realization of a high-efficiency solid-state spin–photon interface.

Spontaneous emission spectrum of a two-level atom in a very high Q cavity

In this paper we consider an initially excited two-level system coupled to a monomode cavity, and compute exact expressions for the spectra spontaneously emitted by each system in the general case where they have arbitrary linewidths and frequencies. Our method is based on the fact that this problem has an easily solvable classical counterpart, which provides a clear interpretation of the evidenced phenomena. We show that if the cavity linewidth is much lower than the atomic linewidth, photons are emitted at the cavity frequency, even if the atom and the cavity are strongly detuned. We also study the links between the spontaneous emission spectra and the fluorescence spectra emitted when the atom is driven by a classical field of tunable frequency in the low excitation limit.

Cooperatively enhanced dipole forces from artificial atoms in trapped nanodiamonds

Since the early work by Ashkin in 1970, optical trapping has become one of the most powerful tools for manipulating small particles, such as micron sized beads or single atoms. The optical trapping mechanism is based on the interaction energy of a dipole and the electric field of the laser light. In atom trapping, the dominant contribution typically comes from the allowed optical transition closest to the laser wavelength, whereas for mesoscopic particles it is given by the bulk polarizability of the material. These two different regimes of optical trapping have coexisted for decades without any direct link, resulting in two very different contexts of applications: one being the trapping of small objects mainly in biological settings, the other one being dipole traps for individual neutral atoms in the field of quantum optics. Here we show that for nanoscale diamond crystals containing artificial atoms, so-called nitrogen vacancy (NV) color centers, both regimes of optical trapping can be observed at the same time even in a noisy liquid environment. For wavelengths in the vicinity of the zero-phonon line transition of the color centers, we observe a significant modification (

Eigenmode orthogonality breaking and anomalous dynamics in multimode nano-optomechanical systems under non-reciprocal coupling

10\%

Cooperative effects between color centers in diamond: applications to optical tweezers and optomechanics

) of the overall trapping strength. Most remarkably, our experimental findings suggest that owing to the large number of artificial atoms, collective effects greatly contribute to the observed trapping strength modification. Our approach adds the powerful atomic-physics toolbox to the field of nano-manipulation.

Cooperatively-enhanced atomic dipole forces in optically trapped nanodiamonds containing NV centres, in liquid

The ultimate sensitivities achieved in force or mass sensing are limited by the employed nanomechanical probes thermal noise. Its proper understanding is critical for ultimate operation and any deviation from the underlying fluctuation dissipation theorem should be carefully inspected. Here we investigate an ultrasensitive vectorial force-field sensor, a singly clamped nanowire oscillating along two quasi frequency degenerated transverse directions. Immersing the nanowire in a non-conservative optical force field causes dramatic modifications of its thermal noise and driven dynamics. In regions of strong vorticity, eigenmodes orientations are distorted and lose their initial orthogonality. Thermal noise spectra strongly deviate from the normal mode expansion and presents an anomalous excess of noise violating the fluctuation dissipation theorem. Our model quantitatively accounts for all observations and underlines the role of non-axial response when patching the fluctuation dissipation relation. These results reveal the intriguing properties of thermal fluctuations in multimode nano-optomechanical systems and the subtleties appearing when performing thermal noise thermometry in such systems. They are also valid in any non-symmetrically coupled dual systems.

Widely Tunable Single-Photon Source from a Carbon Nanotube in the Purcell Regime.

Since the early work by Ashkin in 1970,1 optical trapping has become one of the most powerful tools for manipulating small particles, such as micron sized beads2 or single atoms.3 Interestingly, both an atom and a lump of dielectric material can be manipulated through the same mechanism: the interaction energy of a dipole and the electric field of the laser light. In the case of atom trapping, the dominant contribution typically comes from the allowed optical transition closest to the laser wavelength while it is given by the bulk polarisability for mesoscopic particles. This difference lead to two very different contexts of applications: one being the trapping of small objects mainly in biological settings,4 the other one being dipole traps for individual neutral atoms5 in the field of quantum optics. In this context, solid state artificial atoms present the interesting opportunity to combine these two aspects of optical manipulation. We are particularly interested in nanodiamonds as they constitute a bulk dielectric object by themselves, but also contain artificial atoms such as nitrogen-vacancy (NV) or silicon-vacancy (SiV) colour centers. With this system, both regimes of optical trapping can be observed at the same time even at room temperature. In this work, we demonstrate that the resonant force from the optical transition of NV centres at 637 nm can be measured in a nanodiamond trapped in water. This additional contribution to the total force is significant, reaching up to 10%. In addition, due to the very large density of NV centres in a sub-wavelength crystal, collective effects between centres have an important effect on the magnitude of the resonant force.6 The possibility to observe such cooperatively enhanced optical force at room temperature is also theoretically confirmed.7 This approach may enable the study of cooperativity in various nanoscale solid-state systems and the use of atomic physics techniques in the field of nano-manipulation and opto-mechanics.

Polariton Boxes in a Tunable Fiber Cavity

We report on a new regime for optical trapping of diamond nanoparticles in liquid. While holding a nanodiamond (~150 nm) containing many NV centres (~10^3) at the focus of classical optical tweezers, we add a second laser slightly detuned from the dipole transition of the NVs. We measure a change in trap stiffness of ~10%. Remarkably, we show that our results must include collective effects – ‘superradiance’ – between colour centres, which has never been reported before for solid-state systems at room temperature. We discuss how these resonant forces depend on (and can be enhanced by) the type, number, dipole strength and spectral linewidth of the centres.