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arXiv:1304.3511 · Optics Letters

High speed, high fidelity detection of an atomic hyperfine qubit

Rachel Noek, Geert Vrijsen, Daniel Gaultney, Emily Mount, Taehyun Kim, Peter Maunz, Jungsang Kim

Published Nov 8, 2013• 109 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Fast and efficient detection of the qubit state in trapped ion systems is critical for implementing quantum error correction and performing fundamental tests such as a loophole-free Bell test. In this work we present a simple qubit state detection protocol for a (171)Yb+ hyperfine atomic qubit trapped in a microfabricated surface trap, enabled by high collection efficiency of the scattered photons and low background photon count rate. We demonstrate average detection times of 10.5, 28.1, and 99.8 μs, corresponding to state detection fidelities of 99%, 99.856(8)%, and 99.915(7)%, respectively.

DOI
10.1364/ol.38.004735

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Fast and efficient detection of the qubit state in trapped ion systems is critical for implementing quantum error correction and performing fundamental tests such as a loophole-free Bell test. In this work we present a simple qubit state detection protocol for a (171)Yb+ hyperfine atomic qubit trapped in a microfabricated surface trap, enabled by high collection efficiency of the scattered photons and low background photon count rate. We demonstrate average detection times of 10.5, 28.1, and 99.8 μs, corresponding to state detection fidelities of 99%, 99.856(8)%, and 99.915(7)%, respectively.
We trap individual 171 Yb + ions in a surface trap microfabricated on a silicon substrate, and demonstrate a complete set of high fidelity single qubit operations for the hyperfine qubit. Trapping times exceeding 20 min without laser cooling, and heating rates as low as 0.8 quanta ms −1 , indicate stable trapping conditions in these microtraps. A coherence time of more than 1 s, high fidelity qubit state detection and single qubit rotations are demonstrated. The observation of low heating rates and demonstration of high quality single qubit gates at room temperature are critical steps toward scalable quantum information processing in microfabricated surface traps.
We demonstrate the use of trapped ytterbium ions as quantum bits for quantum information processing. We implement fast, efficient state preparation and state detection of the first-order magnetic field-insensitive hyperfine levels of 171Yb+^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}171Yb+, with a measured coherence time of 2.5s2.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}2.5s. The high efficiency and high fidelity of these operations is accomplished through the stabilization and frequency modulation of relevant laser sources.
Trapped ion systems are the leading candidate for quantum information processing because many of the critical components have already been demonstrated. Scaling trapped ion systems to large numbers of ions is currently believed possible, but much work remains to prove it. Microfabricated surface ion traps are increasing in popularity for their ease of mass production and their ability to manipulate individual ions and interact arbitrary pairs of ions. Even with the advent of scalable ion traps, detection of an individual ion trapped in a high vacuum poses a challenge. The internal state of the ion chosen for a quantum bit can be measured via exposure to a probe beam that causes one state to scatter light (a "bright" state), but not the other state (a "dark" state). In free space, a single ion acts like a point source that emits in all directions; a standard two inch lens system can only collect about 2% of the light emitted by the ion. Poor light collection results in a high error rate and slow determination of the internal state of the ion. Fast, high fidelity state detection is necessary for quantum error correction and loophole-free Bell experiments at short (less than 100\\,km) distances, and high efficiency collection is necessary to rapidly interconnect separate quantum computers. We demonstrate state detection fidelities of 99%, 99.856(8)% and 99.915(7) % which correspond to detection times of 10.5, 28.1 and 99.8 us, respectively.
Qubit state detection is an important part of a quantum computation. As the number of qubits in a quantum register increases, it is necessary to maintain high-fidelity detection to accurately measure the multiqubit state. Here we present experimental demonstration of high-fidelity detection of a multiqubit trapped-ion register with an average single-qubit detection error of 4.2(1.5) ppm and a four-qubit state detection error of 17(2) ppm, limited by the decay lifetime of the qubit, using a single-photon-sensitive camera with fast data collection, excellent temporal and spatial resolution, and low instrumental crosstalk.
We report high-fidelity state readout of a trapped ion qubit using a trap-integrated photon detector. We determine the hyperfine qubit state of a single ^{9}Be^{+} ion held in a surface-electrode rf ion trap by counting state-dependent ion fluorescence photons with a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector fabricated into the trap structure. The average readout fidelity is 0.9991(1), with a mean readout duration of 46 μs, and is limited by the polarization impurity of the readout laser beam and by off-resonant optical pumping. Because there are no intervening optical elements between the ion and the detector, we can use the ion fluorescence as a self-calibrated photon source to determine the detector quantum efficiency and its dependence on photon incidence angle and polarization.
Qubits encoded in hyperfine states of trapped ions are ideal for quantum computation given their long lifetimes and low sensitivity to magnetic fields, yet they suffer from off-resonant scattering during detection, often limiting their measurement fidelity. In 171Yb+{}^{171}{\text{Yb}}^{+}171Yb+ this is exacerbated by a low fluorescence yield, which leads to a need for complex and expensive hardware, a problematic bottleneck especially when scaling up the number of qubits. We demonstrate a detection routine based on electron shelving to address this issue in 171Yb+{}^{171}{\text{Yb}}^{+}171Yb+ and achieve a $5.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ reduction in single-ion detection error on an avalanche photodiode to $1.8(2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ in a 100 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ detection period and a $4.3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ error reduction on an electron multiplying CCD camera with $7.7(2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ error in 400 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$. We further improve the characterization of a repump transition at 760 nm to enable a more rapid reset of the auxiliary 2F7/2{}^{2}{F}_{7/2}2F7/2​ states populated after shelving. Finally, we examine the detection fidelity limit using the long-lived 2F7/2{}^{2}{F}_{7/2}2F7/2​ state, achieving further $300\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ and $12\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ reductions in error to $6(7)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$ and $6.3(3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ in 1 ms on the respective detectors. While shelving-rate limited in our setup, we suggest various techniques to realize this detection method at speeds compatible with quantum information processing, providing a pathway to ultrahigh-fidelity detection in 171Yb+{}^{171}{\text{Yb}}^{+}171Yb+.