Nanostructures and quantum emitters together make light more precise

Optical fibre sensors make use of diverse physical effects to measure parameters such as strain, temperature and electric field. We have recently introduced a new class of reconfigurable fibre sensor, based on a ‘flying-particle’ optically trapped inside a hollow-core photonic crystal fibre, and illustrated its use in electric field and temperature sensing with high spatial resolution. The electric field distribution near the surface of a multi-element electrode was measured with a resolution of ~100 μm by monitoring changes in the transmitted light signal due to the transverse displacement of a charged silica microparticle trapped within the hollow core (see Figure). In another experiment, Doppler-based velocity measurements are used to map the gas viscosity, and thus the temperature, along a hollow-core photonic crystal fibre. The flying-particle approach represents a new paradigm in fibre sensors, potentially allowing multiple physical quantities to be mapped with high positional accuracy over kilometre-scale distances.
 

Contact: diego-martin.cano(at)mpl.mpg(dot)de (Sandoghdar Division)
Reference: Large Suppression of Quantum Fluctuations of Light from a Single Emitter by an Optical Nanostructure; D. Martin-Cano et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 263605 (2014).