Intellectual merit: We propose a broad-based program of experimental research to advance our understanding of the degree to which van der Waals interactions may ultimately limit the performance of photonic-atom chips. At the same time, we will improve our ability to fabricate devices with a high degree of integration between the photonic and atom-trapping "layers." Photonic-atom chips are a leading candidate for a technology platform to enable scalable and robust quantum communication networks, and efforts to develop them have drawn together cutting-edge methodology from the fields of nanofabrication, atomic physics and photonic engineering. In the long run, the line of research we are initiating should lead to an improved understanding of how perturbative and strongly-coupled quantum electrodynamics come together in research involving gas-phase atoms and dielectric microresonators. This type of research will be crucial for realizing the great promise of nanotechnology approaches to quantum information processing.
Broader impact: The fabrication techniques we will develop and the results of our surface-effects studies will have relevance for research beyond the field of quantum information science. For example, they will be highly valuable for applied work on the development of chip-scale sensors (atomic clocks and atom-interferometric inertial sensors) and basic research on developing atom-chip systems to study quantum degenerate gases confined to one or two dimensions. The proposed research will contribute significantly to the interdisciplinary training of graduate students, who will engage both in highly focused technical work on improved fabrication methods and in more conceptual research on atom cooling and trapping and quantum electrodynamics.
