Synthesis and Thermodynamics of Tapered Optical Nanofibers

Abstract

This thesis pertains to the synthesis and use of tapered nanofibers (TNF) in quantum optics experiments. TNFs are optical fibers which contain a region radially tapering down to a submicron diameter. The key feature of such fibers is that a significant portion of an internally propagating electromagnetic field is just outside the fiber in the form of an evanescent field. TNFs are used to substantially improve light-matter interactions by providing a constant small focus of light along millimeters or centimeters of length. Here we report the successful synthesis of a low-loss TNF of custom geometry both theoretically and experimentally. Additionally, we study the thermodynamics of such fibers, demonstrating the ability to measure their temperature resulting from a coupled laser. Finally, we demonstrate the ability to recover lost transmission, due to atoms adsorbed on the fiber's surface. We conclude with an outlook on future experiments with TNFs.