Work

Collective strong coupling of thermal atoms to integrated microring resonators

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Strong coupling between atomic ensembles and high-quality optical cavities enables collective and nonlinear phenomena that are central to cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED). Many experiments have been performed on this topic, with most of them focusing on cold atoms. Here, we experimentally demonstrate collective strong coupling between thermal rubidium vapor and high-quality silicon nitride microring resonators (MRRs) on an integrated photonic chip. We observe cavity-mode splitting, with a measured collective coupling strength of g N / 2 π ≈ 1 G Hz and a collective cooperativity of C N ≈ 2 at 110 ∘ C , indicating coherent energy exchange between the atomic ensemble and the cavity mode despite rapid decoherence in the thermal vapor system. We infer an average of 20 atoms effectively participating in the collective interaction, yielding a single-atom cooperativity of C 0 = 0.1 and approaching the single-atom strong-coupling regime. Our results establish the integrated thermal vapor MRR platform as a robust, compact, and scalable system for studying collective and nonlinear phenomena in cQED.

Source: Physical Review Research

DOI: 10.1103/bkxk-dt49