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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 73: Quantum Technologies – Solid State Systems

Q 73.6: Vortrag

Freitag, 6. März 2026, 12:30–12:45, P 7

Nanophotonic engineering to enhance laser cooling via Erbium ions — •Nilesh Goel, Florian Burger, Andrew Propper, Stephan Rinner, Andreas Gritsch, Kilian Sandholzer, and Andreas Reiserer — Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Physics Department and Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST), James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany

The cooling of solid-state quantum systems is a key requirement for their coherent operation. Conventional cryocoolers are limited by their large size, power consumption, and added vibrations. Therefore we explore an alternative route: on-chip laser cooling of silicon nanostructures using erbium dopants as local refrigerants. While direct optical refrigeration of semiconductors is challenging, erbium ions embedded in a nanophotonic slow-light waveguide can efficiently pump entropy from the phonon bath into a guided light mode. In a first experiment, we show how this allows for accurate temperature measurement [1]. To enhance the cooling process, we then use slow-light engineering to tailor the local density of states over a broad spectral range. This way we can suppress the unwanted radiative channels [2] to suppress competing decay pathways, thereby improving the cooling efficiencies of the system. We show the current progress towards this goal and outline the next steps toward enhanced laser cooling in solid state systems.

[1] K. Sandholzer et al., Nanophotonics 14, 2005 (2025).

[2] F. Burger et al., arXiv:2511.23301 (2025).

Keywords: Laser Cooling; Erbium emitters; Silicon waveguides; Nanophotonics; Rare earths