S. Cibella

Ultrastrong coupling in the near field of complementary split-ring resonators

Ultrastrong coupling of split ring resonators to the cyclotron transition in two-dimensional electron gases is studied in the terahertz regime, clarifying the importance of the resonator geometry. The use of the complementary type of resonator allows removal of the signal from the uncoupled areas. The experimental results are of spectacular quality and quantity. A record high light-matter coupling ratio (normalized vacuum Rabi frequency) of 0.87 is achieved.

Wide dynamic range terahertz detector pixel for active spectroscopic imaging with quantum cascade lasers

A superconducting bolometer with an on-chip lithographic terahertz antenna has been illuminated by two quantum cascade lasers operating at 2.5 and 4.4 THz. The detector displays a 1.2 μs time constant, a noise equivalent power of 20 fW/Hz1/2 and a 60 dB dynamic range. We fabricated a monolithic prototype detector array of five elements. This scalable detector is a suitable candidate for terahertz spectroscopic imaging systems, as it can measure both full illuminator power and strongly attenuated or diffuse reflected signals in subsequent frames.

High quality factor, fully switchable terahertz superconducting metasurface

We present a complementary THz metasurface realised with Niobium thin film which displays a quality factor Q = 54 and a fully switchable behaviour as a function of the temperature. The switching behaviour and the high quality factor are due to a careful design of the metasurface aimed at maximising the ohmic losses when the Nb is above the critical temperature and minimising the radiative coupling. The superconductor allows the operation of the cavity with high Q and the use of inductive elements with a high aspect ratio. Comparison with three dimensional finite element simulations highlights the crucial role of the inductive elements and of the kinetic inductance of the Cooper pairs in achieving the high quality factor and the high field enhancement.

Superconducting complementary metasurfaces for THz ultrastrong light-matter coupling

A superconducting metasurface operating in the THz range and based on the complementary metamaterial approach is discussed. Experimental measurements as a function of temperature and magnetic field display a modulation of the metasurface with a change in transmission amplitude and frequency of the resonant features. Such a metasurface is successively used in a cavity quantum electrodynamic experiment displaying ultrastrong coupling to the cyclotron transition of two-dimensional electron gas. A finite element modeling is developed and its results are in good agreement with the experimental data. In this system a normalized coupling ratio of is measured and a clear modulation of the polaritonic states as a function of the temperature is observed.

Amplitude sensitive experiment of pairing symmetry in d0–d0 submicron Y–Ba–Cu–O bicrystal grain boundary junctions

We have fabricated and analyzed submicron YBa2Cu3O7−x grain boundary Josephson junctions grown on [100] tilt SrTiO3 bicrystal substrates. We present an experiment sensitive to the amplitude of the order parameter. To this aim, we have measured electrical properties of [100] tilt bicrystal YBa2Cu3O7−x grain boundary junctions with nominal widths of 700 nm and 300 nm. Junctions are fabricated so that positive lobes of the d-wave electrodes face one another (d0–d0 junction). We demonstrate that, in such devices, the temperature dependences of the critical current may be accounted for by very high-transparency junction barriers, in which the influence of nodes in the pair potential is an essential element. We based our analysis on a recent theoretical model that, starting from the Bogoliubov–de Gennes equations, takes into account the presence of Andreev bound states in layered superconductors, with Cu–O planes tilted with respect the substrate plane, as is the case of [100] tilt grain boundary junctions.

ELENA microchannel plate detector: absolute detection efficiency for low energy neutral atoms

Microchannel plate (MCP) detectors are frequently used in space instrumentation for detecting a wide range of radiation and particles. The capability to detect non-thermal, low energy, neutral species is crucial for the Emitted Low-Energy Neutral Atoms (ELENA) sensor, which is part of the Search for Exospheric Refilling and Emitted Natural Abundances (SERENA) package on board the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) space- craft of the BepiColombo mission of European Space Agency to Mercury, which is scheduled for launch in August 2015. ELENA is a time-of-flight sensor based on a novel concept using an ultrasonic oscillating shutter (start section) and MCP detector (stop detector). The ELENA scientific objective is to monitor the emission of neutral atoms from the surface of Mercury by detecting energetic neutral atoms in the range 10 eV to 5 keV, within 76 deg FOV, perpendicular to the S/C orbital plane. The sur- face is scanned due to the spacecraft motion. In particular, processes of particle release from the surface will be investigated by identifying particles released via solar wind-induced ion sputtering (with energies >1 eV to <100 eV) as well as energetic hydrogen atoms, which are back-scattered solar wind protons, at energies of hundreds of eV. MCP absolute detection efficiency, for very low energy neutral atoms (E < 30 eV), is a crucial point for this investigation. At Messkammer fur Flugzeitinstrumente und time-of- flight facility of the University of Bern, measurements on three MCP, with different coatings, have been performed providing the first data of MCP detection efficiencies in the energy range 10 eV to 1 keV.

ELENA MCP detector: absolute detection efficiency for low-energy neutral atoms

Microchannel Plates (MCP) detectors are frequently used in space instrumentation for detecting a wide range of radiation and particles. In particular, the capability to detect non-thermal low energy neutral species is crucial for the sensor ELENA (Emitted Low-Energy Neutral Atoms), part of the package SERENA (Search for Exospheric Refilling and Emitted Natural Abundances) on board the BepiColombo mission of ESA to Mercury to be launched in 2015. ELENA is a Time of Flight (TOF) sensor, based on a novel concept using an ultra-sonic oscillating shutter (Start section), which is operated at frequencies up to 50 kHz; a MCP detector is used as a Stop detector. The scientific objective of ELENA is to detect energetic neutral atoms in the range 10 eV – 5 keV, within 76° FOV, perpendicular to the S/C orbital plane. ELENA will monitor the emission of neutral atoms from the whole surface of Mercury thanks to the spacecraft motion. The major scientific objectives are the interaction between the plasma environment and the planet’s surface, the global particle loss-rate and the remote sensing of the surface properties. In particular, surface release processes are investigated by identifying particles released from the surface, via solar wind-induced ion sputtering (< 1eV – < 100 eV) as well as Hydrogen back-scattered at hundreds eV. MCP absolute detection efficiency for very low energy neutral atoms (E < 30 eV) is a crucial point for this investigation. At the MEFISTO facility of the Physical Institute of the University of Bern (CH), measurements on three different types of MCP (with and without coating) have been performed providing the detection efficiencies in the energy range 10eV – 1keV. Outcomes from such measurements are discussed here.

Effective cyclotron mass renormalization in ultrastrong coupling (Conference Presentation)

Ultrastrong light matter coupling has raised high interest in recent years for the predicted unusual quantum properties of its ground state, which contains photons. We have investigated such physics in a system based on the cyclotron transition of a 2D confined electrons (or holes) gas in semiconductors coupled to the modes of highly subwavelength metallic resonators in the 200-1000 GHz range. The extreme reduction of the cavity volume and surface (Seff/λ0=3 x 10-7) led to the observation of ultrastrong coupling on a small (<100) number of electrons. Such extreme conditions reveal also a previously unobserved renormalization of the cyclotron effective mass, effectively breaking Kohn’s theorem. Kohns theorem states the independence of the cyclotron resonance frequency from many-body effects in the case of a parabolic and translationally invariant system. For our resonator the translational invariance is clearly broken since the electric field is concentrated on a circular region of around r= 350 nm for a cyclotron radius of the order of 60 nm for a free space wavelength of 1 mm (300 GHz). In our case we can reveal many body effects on the cyclotron mass because we break the translational invariance of the system with the extreme photonic confinement provided by the cavity, observing an increase of the m*/m0 of 6% with respect to the uncoupled cyclotron mass. Experiments conduced on the same 2DEG with a standard split-ring resonator at the same frequency do not show any effective mass shift.

Ultrastrong coupling with few (<60) electrons at 280 GHz in single LC nanogap resonators(Conference Presentation)

Strong light-matter coupling lies at the heart of quantum optics and recently has been successfully explored also in the GHz and THz range. New, intriguing quantum optical phenomena have been predicted in the ultrastrong coupling regime, when the coupling strength Omega becomes comparable to the unperturbed frequency of the system omega_c. We recently proposed a new experimental platform where the physics of the ultrastrong coupling can be investigated at GHz-THz frequencies. We couple the inter-Landau level transition of an high-mobility 2 dimensional electron gas (2DEG) to the subwavelength photonic mode of an LC meta-atom. Our system benefits from the collective enhancement of the light-matter coupling which comes from the scaling of the coupling constant Omega with the square root of the number of electrons in the last Landau level. In our previous experiments and in literature this number varies from 10000-1000 electrons per resonator. Here we present ultrastrong coupling between a high-mobility 2DEG (mu=2.3X 10^6 cm^2/Vs) and an extremely subwavelength hybrid-LC resonator ensemble (11 resonators) with an highly reduced effective mode volume V_eff=4 x 10^-19 m^3=4 x 10^(-10) lambda^3 at a frequency of 300 GHz. The number of optically active electrons is given by the flux quantum multiplied by the effective resonator area and is proportional to the magnetic field. At the anticrossing field of B=0.73 T we measure less than 80 electrons ultrastrongly coupled to the resonator with a normalized coupling ratio Omega/omega_c=0.35. This experiment paves the way towards the study of ultrastrong coupling physics in the regime of quantum non-linearities.

Few-Electron Ultrastrong Light-Matter Coupling at 300 GHz with Nanogap Hybrid LC Microcavities

Ultrastrong light-matter coupling allows the exploration of new states of matter through the interaction of strong vacuum fields with huge electronic dipoles. By using hybrid dipole antenna-split ring resonator-based cavities with extremely small effective mode volumes Veff/λ03 ≃ 6 × 10-10 and surfaces Seff/λ02 ≃ 3.5 × 10-7, we probe the ultrastrong light-matter coupling at 300 GHz to less than 100 electrons located in the last occupied Landau level of a high mobility two-dimensional electron gas, measuring a normalized coupling ratio of ΩR/ωc = 0.36. Effects of the extremely reduced cavity dimensions are observed as the light-matter coupled system is better described by an effective mass heavier than the uncoupled one. These results open the way to ultrastrong coupling at the single-electron level in two-dimensional electron systems.