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arXiv:1210.3655 · New Journal of Physics

Reliable transport through a microfabricated X -junction surface-electrode ion trap

Kenneth Wright, Jason Amini, Daniel L. Faircloth, Curtis Volin, S. Charles Doret, Harley Hayden, C. S. Pai, David W. Landgren, Douglas R. Denison, Tyler N. Killian, Richart E. Slusher, Alexa W. Harter

Published Mar 4, 2013• 87 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We report the design, fabrication and characterization of a microfabricated surface-electrode ion trap that supports controlled transport through the two-dimensional intersection of linear trapping zones arranged in a 90° cross. The trap is fabricated with very large scalable integration techniques which are compatible with scaling to a large quantum information processor. The shape of the radio-frequency electrodes is optimized with a genetic algorithm to reduce axial pseudopotential barriers and minimize ion heating during transport. Seventy-eight independent dc control electrodes enable fine control of the trapping potentials. We demonstrate reliable ion transport between junction legs and determine the rate of ion loss due to transport. Doppler-cooled ions survive more than 10 5 round-trip transits between junction legs without loss and more than 65 consecutive round trips without laser cooling.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/15/3/033004

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Abstract We describe the design of a surface-electrode ion trap junction, which is a key element for large-scale ion trap arrays. A bi-objective optimization method is used for designing the electrodes, which maintains the total pseudo-potential curvature while minimizing the axial pseudo-potential gradient along the ion transport path. To facilitate the laser beam delivery for parallel operations in multiple trap zones, we implemented integrated optics on each arm of this X-junction trap. The layout of the trap chip for commercial foundry fabrication is presented. This work suggests routes to improving ion trap junction performance in scalable implementations. Together with integrated optical addressing, this contributes to modular trapped-ion quantum computing in interconnected two-dimensional arrays.
Abstract Junctions are fundamental elements that support qubit locomotion in two-dimensional ion trap arrays and enhance connectivity in emerging trapped-ion quantum computers. In surface ion traps they have typically been implemented by shaping radio frequency (RF) electrodes in a single plane to minimize the disturbance to the pseudopotential. However, this method introduces issues related to RF lead routing that can increase power dissipation and the likelihood of voltage breakdown. Here, we propose and simulate a novel two-layer junction design incorporating two perpendicularly rotoreflected (rotated, then reflected) linear ion traps. The traps are vertically separated, and create a trapping potential between their respective planes. The orthogonal orientation of the RF electrodes of each trap relative to the other provides perpendicular axes of confinement that can be used to realize transport in two dimensions. While this design introduces manufacturing and operating challenges, as now two separate structures have to be precisely positioned relative to each other in the vertical direction and optical access from the top is obscured, it obviates the need to route RF leads below the top surface of the trap and eliminates the pseudopotential bumps that occur in typical junctions. In this paper the stability of idealized ion transfer in the new configuration is demonstrated, both by solving the Mathieu equation analytically to identify the stable regions and by numerically modeling ion dynamics. Our novel junction layout has the potential to enhance the flexibility of microfabricated ion trap control to enable large-scale trapped-ion quantum computing.
We present the design, fabrication and experimental implementation of surface ion traps with Y-shaped junctions. The traps are designed to minimize the pseudopotential variations in the junction region at the symmetric intersection of three linear segments. We experimentally demonstrate robust linear and junction shuttling with greater than 10 6 round-trip shuttles without ion loss. By minimizing the direct line of sight between trapped ions and dielectric surfaces, negligible day-to-day and trap-to-trap variations are observed. In addition to high-fidelity single-ion shuttling, multiple-ion chains survive splitting, ion-position swapping and recombining routines. The development of two-dimensional trapping structures is an important milestone for ion-trap quantum computing and quantum simulations.
Individual laser-cooled 24Mg+ ions are confined in a linear Paul trap with a novel geometry where gold electrodes are located in a single plane and the ions are trapped 40 microm above this plane. The relatively simple trap design and fabrication procedure are important for large-scale quantum information processing (QIP) using ions. Measured ion motional frequencies are compared to simulations. Measurements of ion recooling after cooling is temporarily suspended yield a heating rate of approximately 5 motional quanta per millisecond for a trap frequency of 2.83 MHz, sufficiently low to be useful for QIP.
We introduce an ion trap platform based on a 3D-printed micro-junction array, designed to implement quantum charge-coupled device (QCCD) architectures for large-scale quantum information processing (QIP). The integration of three-dimensionally structured micro Radio-Frequency (RF) electrodes above a surface-electrode trap enables flexible control of electric field profiles across both linear and junction regions. Through simulations, we demonstrate that the linear region exhibits deeper and more harmonic ion confinement with reduced RF drive power compared to conventional planar traps. Crucially, we identify a junction geometry that maintains uniform ion confinement during transport while substantially reducing the pseudopotential barrier. This reduction facilitates low-heating, high-fidelity transport of single- and multi-species ion crystals. Our results establish a viable route toward fault-tolerant quantum computing by enabling modular and scalable QCCD systems based on the state-of-the-art 3D-printing technologies.