ABSTRACT
We report a single-photon Mach-Zehnder interferometer stabilized to a phase precision of 0.05 degrees over 15 hours. To lock the phase, we employ an auxiliary reference light at a different wavelength than the quantum signal. The developed phase locking operates continuously, with negligible crosstalk, and for an arbitrary phase of the quantum signal. Moreover, its performance is independent of intensity fluctuations of the reference. Since the presented method can be used in a vast majority of quantum interferometric networks it can significantly improve phase-sensitive applications in quantum communication and quantum metrology.
ABSTRACT
Hysteresis is a problem in field-effect transistors (FETs) often caused by defects and charge traps inside a gate isolating (e.g., SiO2) layer. This work shows that graphene-based FETs also exhibit hysteresis due to water physisorbed on top of graphene determined by the relative humidity level, which naturally happens in biosensors and ambient operating sensors. The hysteresis effect is explained by trapping of electrons by physisorbed water, and it is shown that this hysteresis can be suppressed using short pulses of alternating gate voltages.
Subject(s)
Biosensing Techniques , Graphite , Silicon Dioxide , Transistors, Electronic , WaterABSTRACT
Engineering quantum states of light represents a crucial task in the vast majority of photonic quantum technology applications. Direct manipulation of the number of photons in the light signal, such as single-photon subtraction and addition, proved to be an efficient strategy for the task. Here we propose an adaptive multi-photon subtraction scheme where a particular subtraction task is conditioned by all previous subtraction events in order to maximize the probability of successful subtraction. We theoretically illustrate this technique on the model example of conversion of Fock states via photon subtraction. We also experimentally demonstrate the core building block of the proposal by implementing a feedforward-assisted conversion of two-photon state to a single-photon state. Our experiment combines two elementary photon subtraction blocks where the splitting ratio of the second subtraction beam splitter is affected by the measurement result from the first subtraction block in real time using an ultra-fast feedforward loop. The reported optimized photon subtraction scheme applies to a broad range of photonic states, including highly nonclassical Fock states and squeezed light, advancing the photonic quantum toolbox.
ABSTRACT
Photonic routing is a key building block of many optical applications challenging its development. We report a $2\times 2$2×2 photonic coupler with a splitting ratio switchable by a low-voltage electronic signal with 10 GHz bandwidth and tens of nanoseconds latency. The coupler can operate at any splitting ratio ranging from 0:100 to 100:0 with the extinction ratio of 26 dB in optical bandwidth of 1.3 THz. We show sub-nanosecond switching between arbitrary coupling regimes including a balanced 50:50 beam splitter, 0:100 switch, and a photonic tap. The core of the device is based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer in a dual-wavelength configuration allowing real-time phase lock with long-term sub-degree stability at single-photon level. Using the reported coupler, we demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a perfectly balanced time-multiplexed device for photon-number-resolving detectors and also the active preparation of a photonic temporal qudit state up to four time bins. Verified long-term stable operation of the coupler at the single-photon level makes it suitable for a wide application range in quantum information processing and quantum optics in general.
ABSTRACT
We present a comparative study of plasmonic antennas fabricated by electron beam lithography and direct focused ion beam milling. We have investigated optical and structural properties and chemical composition of gold disc-shaped plasmonic antennas on a silicon nitride membrane fabricated by both methods to identify their advantages and disadvantages. Plasmonic antennas were characterized using transmission electron microscopy including electron energy loss spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. We have found stronger plasmonic response with better field confinement in the antennas fabricated by electron beam lithography, which is attributed to their better structural quality, homogeneous thickness, and only moderate contamination mostly of organic nature. Plasmonic antennas fabricated by focused ion beam lithography feature weaker plasmonic response, lower structural quality with pronounced thickness fluctuations, and strong contamination, both organic and inorganic, including implanted ions from the focused beam. While both techniques are suitable for the fabrication of plasmonic antennas, electron beam lithography shall be prioritized over focused ion beam lithography due to better quality and performance of its products.
ABSTRACT
The article shows how the dynamic mapping of surface potential (SP) measured by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) in combination with calculation by a diffusion-like equation and the theory based on the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) model of water condensation and electron hopping can provide the information concerning the resistivity of low conductive surfaces and their water coverage. This is enabled by a study of charge transport between isolated and grounded graphene sheets on a silicon dioxide surface at different relative humidity (RH) with regard to the use of graphene in ambient electronic circuits and especially in sensors. In the experimental part, the chemical vapor-deposited graphene is precisely patterned by the mechanical atomic force microscopy (AFM) lithography and the charge transport is studied through a surface potential evolution measured by KPFM. In the computational part, a quantitative model based on solving the diffusion-like equation for the charge transport is used to fit the experimental data and thus to find the SiO2 surface resistivity ranging from 107 to 1010 Ω and exponentially decreasing with the RH increase. Such a behavior is explained using the formation of water layers predicted by the BET adsorption theory and electron-hopping theory that for the SiO2 surface patterned by AFM predicts a high water coverage even at low RHs.
ABSTRACT
This article deals with the analysis of the relationship between the pull-off force measured by atomic force microscopy and the dimensions of water bridge condensed between a hydrophilic silicon oxide tip and a silicon oxide surface under ambient conditions. Our experiments have shown that the pull-off force increases linearly with the radius of the tip and nonmonotonically with the relative humidity (RH). The latter dependence generally consists of an initial constant part changing to a convex-concave-like increase of the pull-off force and finally followed by a concave-like decrease of this force. The reproducibility tests have demonstrated that the precision limits have to be taken into account for comparing these measurements carried out under atmospheric conditions. The results were fitted by a classical thermodynamic model based on water-bridge envelope calculations using the numerical solution of the Kelvin equation in the form of axisymmetric differential equations and consequent calculation of adhesive forces. To describe the measured data more precisely, a decrease of the water surface tension for low RH was incorporated into the calculation. Such a decrease can be expected as a consequence of the high surface curvature in the nanometer-sized water bridge between the tip and the surface.
