Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2312.10131 · Physical Review Research

Hybrid Paul-optical trap with large optical access for levitated optomechanics

Eric Bonvin, Louisiane Devaud, Massimiliano Rossi, Andrei Militaru, Lorenzo Dania, Dmitry S. Bykov, Markus Teller, Tracy E. Northup, Lukáš Novotný, Martin Frimmer

Published Nov 12, 2024• 17 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a hybrid trapping platform that allows us to levitate a charged nanoparticle in high vacuum using either optical fields, radio-frequency fields, or a combination thereof. Our hybrid approach combines an optical dipole trap with a linear Paul trap while maintaining a large numerical aperture (0.77 NA). We detail a controlled transfer procedure that allows us to use the Paul trap as a “safety net” to recover particles lost from the optical trap at high vacuum. The presented hybrid platform adds to the toolbox of levitodynamics and represents an important step towards fully controllable “dark” potentials, providing control in the absence of decoherence because of photon recoil. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.6.043129

Related papers

Extending Vacuum Trapping to Absorbing Objects with Hybrid Paul-Optical Traps

Gerard P. Conangla, Raúl A. Rica, Romain Quidant

The levitation of condensed matter in vacuum allows the study of its physical properties under extreme isolation from the environment. It also offers a venue to investigate quantum mechanics with large systems, at the transition between the quantum and classical worlds. In this work, we study a novel hybrid levitation platform that combines a Paul trap with a weak but highly focused laser beam, a configuration that integrates a deep potential with excellent confinement and motion detection. We combine simulations and experiments to demonstrate the potential of this approach to extend vacuum trapping and interrogation to a broader range of nanomaterials, such as absorbing particles. We study the stability and dynamics of different specimens, such as fluorescent dielectric crystals and gold nanorods, and demonstrate stable trapping down to pressures of 1 mbar.

arXiv:2005.05486•Nano Letters•Jul 21, 2020•46 citations

Hybrid trap for levitated optomechanics of mesoscopic particles

Varier, Meenakshi Mohana

In this M.Phil thesis, a hybrid trap for optomechanical studies of mesoscopic particle is investigated. It uses a Planar Paul Trap (PPT) for electrical confinement and a parabolic mirror for optical confinement. The PPT is compatible with the printed circuit board (PCB) technology making it easier to integrate with the mirror trap. This compatibility also simplifies particle loading, enhances ground state cooling and improves optical interrogation within the trap. It can create various potential landscapes of a quartic potential, including double well or inverted harmonic, and is a potential tool for investigating macroscopic quantum superposition states. This planar geometry of the Paul trap allows large optical access required for optical confinement and detection of the particle. The parabolic mirror provides the benefits of virtually no chromatic aberration, high numerical aperture and functioning as an additional RF electrode of the hybrid trap. The work includes simulations and experiments to characterize the hybrid trap by analyzing the effective trapping potential. From the numerical simulations, the ratio of axial to radial secular frequencies of the trapped particle under the RF drive is = 0.98, implying the chosen parameters of the PPT + mirror RF trap has approximately the same stiffness and hence confinement in the axial and radial directions. It is also observed that the dynamics of a single particle under the RF drive is not affected by damping and random forces in a high vacuum (∼ 10-6 mbar).

•Nov 27, 2025•0 citations

Hybrid electro-optical trap for experiments with levitated particles in vacuum

Dmitry S. Bykov, Maximilian Meusburger, Lorenzo Dania +1 more

We confine a microparticle in a hybrid potential created by a Paul trap and a dual-beam optical trap. We transfer the particle between the Paul trap and the optical trap at different pressures and study the influence of feedback cooling on the transfer process. This technique provides a path for experiments with optically levitated particles in ultra-high vacuum and in potentials with complex structures.

arXiv:2204.04912•Review of Scientific Instruments•Jul 1, 2022•1 citation

Electro-Optical Metalens for Near-Surface Cooling of a Levitated Particle

Pedro Rosso Gomez, Bruno Melo, Adeel Afridi +3 more

Advanced levitation optomechanics in the quantum regime requires sophisticated quantumengineered protocols operating at shorter length and time scales, demanding an increasing control over both optical and electrical potentials. Integrated chip-scale platforms offer a natural route toward such control. Here, we demonstrate optical levitation in vacuum using a miniaturized hybrid electro-optical metalens. Motion control is achieved using a high numerical aperture metalens combined with electrical active feedback using planar electrodes, enabling cooling to low phonon occupations. Reheating measurements enable us to rule out any significant influence from electric field noise; an encouraging result for the future development of on-chip levitation platforms operating close to surfaces. This compact integrated platform facilitates the precise manipulation and control of levitated nanoparticles while laying the ground toward exploiting the full capacity of metaoptics to engineer complex optical potentials, marking a significant step forward in technologies for quantum levitation optomechanics.

physics.opticsCross-listedarXiv:2610.06279•Oct 6, 2026

Review of scientific instruments / Hybrid electro-optical trap for experiments with levitated particles in vacuum

Dmitry S. Bykov, Maximilian Meusburger, Lorenzo Dania +1 more

We confine a microparticle in a hybrid potential created by a Paul trap and a dual-beam optical trap. We transfer the particle between the Paul trap and the optical trap at different pressures and study the influence of feedback cooling on the transfer process. This technique provides a path for experiments with optically levitated particles in ultra-high vacuum and in potentials with complex structures.

•Jan 1, 2022•22 citations

Cold hybrid electrical-optical ion trap

Jin‐Ming Cui, Shi-Jia Sun, Xi-Wang Luo +3 more

Advances in research in fields such as quantum information and quantum chemistry require subtle methods for trapping particles, including ions, neutral atoms, and molecules. Here, we propose a hybrid ion-trapping method that combines a Paul trap with optical tweezers. This trap incorporates both the deep-potential characteristic of the Paul trap and the micromotion-free nature of the optical dipole trap. By modulating the optical dipole trap synchronously with the radio-frequency voltage of the Paul trap, the alternating electrical force in the trap center is fully counteracted, and the micromotion temperature of a cold trapped ion can reach the nanokelvin scale, while the trap depth exceeds 300 K. These features will allow cold collisions between an ion and an atom in the $s$-wave regime and stably trap the produced molecular ion in the cold hybrid system. This provides a unique platform for probing the interactions between the ions and the surrounding neutral particles and enables the investigation of new reaction pathways and reaction products in the cold regime.

arXiv:2306.10366•Physical Review Applied•May 15, 2025•3 citations
We present a hybrid trapping platform that allows us to levitate a charged nanoparticle in high vacuum using either optical fields, radio-frequency fields, or a combination thereof. Our hybrid approach combines an optical dipole trap with a linear Paul trap while maintaining a large numerical aperture (0.77 NA). We detail a controlled transfer procedure that allows us to use the Paul trap as a “safety net” to recover particles lost from the optical trap at high vacuum. The presented hybrid platform adds to the toolbox of levitodynamics and represents an important step towards fully controllable “dark” potentials, providing control in the absence of decoherence because of photon recoil. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
The levitation of condensed matter in vacuum allows the study of its physical properties under extreme isolation from the environment. It also offers a venue to investigate quantum mechanics with large systems, at the transition between the quantum and classical worlds. In this work, we study a novel hybrid levitation platform that combines a Paul trap with a weak but highly focused laser beam, a configuration that integrates a deep potential with excellent confinement and motion detection. We combine simulations and experiments to demonstrate the potential of this approach to extend vacuum trapping and interrogation to a broader range of nanomaterials, such as absorbing particles. We study the stability and dynamics of different specimens, such as fluorescent dielectric crystals and gold nanorods, and demonstrate stable trapping down to pressures of 1 mbar.
In this M.Phil thesis, a hybrid trap for optomechanical studies of mesoscopic particle is investigated. It uses a Planar Paul Trap (PPT) for electrical confinement and a parabolic mirror for optical confinement. The PPT is compatible with the printed circuit board (PCB) technology making it easier to integrate with the mirror trap. This compatibility also simplifies particle loading, enhances ground state cooling and improves optical interrogation within the trap. It can create various potential landscapes of a quartic potential, including double well or inverted harmonic, and is a potential tool for investigating macroscopic quantum superposition states. This planar geometry of the Paul trap allows large optical access required for optical confinement and detection of the particle. The parabolic mirror provides the benefits of virtually no chromatic aberration, high numerical aperture and functioning as an additional RF electrode of the hybrid trap. The work includes simulations and experiments to characterize the hybrid trap by analyzing the effective trapping potential. From the numerical simulations, the ratio of axial to radial secular frequencies of the trapped particle under the RF drive is = 0.98, implying the chosen parameters of the PPT + mirror RF trap has approximately the same stiffness and hence confinement in the axial and radial directions. It is also observed that the dynamics of a single particle under the RF drive is not affected by damping and random forces in a high vacuum (∼ 10-6 mbar).
Advanced levitation optomechanics in the quantum regime requires sophisticated quantumengineered protocols operating at shorter length and time scales, demanding an increasing control over both optical and electrical potentials. Integrated chip-scale platforms offer a natural route toward such control. Here, we demonstrate optical levitation in vacuum using a miniaturized hybrid electro-optical metalens. Motion control is achieved using a high numerical aperture metalens combined with electrical active feedback using planar electrodes, enabling cooling to low phonon occupations. Reheating measurements enable us to rule out any significant influence from electric field noise; an encouraging result for the future development of on-chip levitation platforms operating close to surfaces. This compact integrated platform facilitates the precise manipulation and control of levitated nanoparticles while laying the ground toward exploiting the full capacity of metaoptics to engineer complex optical potentials, marking a significant step forward in technologies for quantum levitation optomechanics.
Advances in research in fields such as quantum information and quantum chemistry require subtle methods for trapping particles, including ions, neutral atoms, and molecules. Here, we propose a hybrid ion-trapping method that combines a Paul trap with optical tweezers. This trap incorporates both the deep-potential characteristic of the Paul trap and the micromotion-free nature of the optical dipole trap. By modulating the optical dipole trap synchronously with the radio-frequency voltage of the Paul trap, the alternating electrical force in the trap center is fully counteracted, and the micromotion temperature of a cold trapped ion can reach the nanokelvin scale, while the trap depth exceeds 300 K. These features will allow cold collisions between an ion and an atom in the sss-wave regime and stably trap the produced molecular ion in the cold hybrid system. This provides a unique platform for probing the interactions between the ions and the surrounding neutral particles and enables the investigation of new reaction pathways and reaction products in the cold regime.