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In this talk, I will present the key developments towards realizing a quantum interface on tapered
optical fibers with subwavelength diameter waist, termed as optical nanofibers. The unique features of the
technique are that the optical field can be tightly confined in the transverse direction while propagating over
long distances as a guided mode and enabling strong interaction with the surrounding medium in the
evanescent region. These features have led to many surprising possibilities to manipulate single atoms and
fiber-guided photons. One of them is the efficient channeling of spontaneous emission of atoms into the
fiber-guided modes. I will present some experiments on fluorescence spectroscopy and photon correlation
measurements using single/few laser cooled atoms and single quantum dots on an optical nanofiber.
In order to extend the nanofiber platform for quantum nonlinear optics with single atoms, the interaction
strength can be further enhanced by fabricating cavity structure on the nanofiber. The unique feature of
such a nanofiber-based cavity is the independent control of transverse and longitudinal confinement. As a
result by controlling the cavity length, one can achieve both Purcell and strong-coupling regime of cavity
QED in a moderate finesse cavity. I will present the experimental developments towards nanofiber-based
cavity QED system. This will include fabrication of various types of photonic crystal cavities on nanofiber,
Purcell enhancement of single quantum dot emission on a nanofiber cavity and some preliminary results on
interfacing individually trapped single atoms with a nanofiber cavity. |