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arXiv:2501.04223 · Physical Review Research

Neutral atoms in optical tweezers as messenger qubits for scaling up a trapped ion quantum computer

Svetlana Kotochigova, Subhadeep Gupta, B. B. Blinov

Published Jul 25, 2025• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We propose to combine neutral atom and trapped ion qubits in one scalable modular architecture that uses shuttling of individual neutral atoms in optical tweezers to realize atomic interconnects between trapped ion quantum registers. These interconnects are , and thus may be performed . The proposed protocol is as follows: A tweezer-trapped neutral atom qubit is brought close to a trapped ion in an ion chain serving as a module of a larger quantum computer, and an entangling gate is performed between the two qubits. Then, the neutral atom is quickly moved to another, nearby trapped ion chain in the same modular ion trap and entangled with an ion in that chain, thus entangling the two separate ion chains. The optical dipole potential of the tweezer beam for the neutral atom does not measurably affect the trapped ions, while the rf ion trap does not affect the neutral atom. With realistic tweezer trap parameters, the neutral atom can be moved over millimeter-scale distance in a few tens of microseconds, thus enabling a remote entanglement generation rate of over 10 3 s − 1 even with very modest assumptions for the atom-ion quantum gate speed, and possibly up to 10 4 s − 1 , which is two orders of magnitude higher than the current state-of-the-art with photonic interconnects.

DOI
10.1103/pvn4-ct5m

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We propose to combine neutral atom and trapped ion qubits in one scalable modular architecture that uses shuttling of individual neutral atoms in optical tweezers to realize atomic interconnects between trapped ion quantum registers. These interconnects are , and thus may be performed . The proposed protocol is as follows: A tweezer-trapped neutral atom qubit is brought close to a trapped ion in an ion chain serving as a module of a larger quantum computer, and an entangling gate is performed between the two qubits. Then, the neutral atom is quickly moved to another, nearby trapped ion chain in the same modular ion trap and entangled with an ion in that chain, thus entangling the two separate ion chains. The optical dipole potential of the tweezer beam for the neutral atom does not measurably affect the trapped ions, while the rf ion trap does not affect the neutral atom. With realistic tweezer trap parameters, the neutral atom can be moved over millimeter-scale distance in a few tens of microseconds, thus enabling a remote entanglement generation rate of over 10 3 s − 1 even with very modest assumptions for the atom-ion quantum gate speed, and possibly up to 10 4 s − 1 , which is two orders of magnitude higher than the current state-of-the-art with photonic interconnects.
Hybrid quantum systems combining neutral atoms and trapped ions offer the prospect of integrating the scalability of atom arrays with the high-fidelity control available in trapped-ion platforms. Here we propose and analyze a quantum interface between individually trapped neutral atoms and a trapped-ion crystal. In our scheme, a neutral 88Sr atom trapped in optical tweezers interacts with a small 88Sr+ ion crystal, and by exciting the atom to a Rydberg state, the atom-ion polarization interaction is strongly enhanced, resulting in a state-dependent modification of the ions' collective motional modes. We show that this shift enables conditional control of a MS gate, allowing the neutral atom to act as a control qubit for an entangling operation between two ions. We investigate the feasibility of the scheme by analyzing Rydberg trapping in the combined optical tweezers and Paul trap potentials, identifying negative-polarizability Rydberg states as particularly favorable for stable confinement. We further evaluate the relevant trapping conditions, Rydberg lifetimes, and coherence requirements, and show that the proposed interface is compatible with realistic experimental parameters. These results establish a practical route toward deterministic atom-ion hybrid quantum gates and quantum interfaces.
Trapped-ion quantum computers have demonstrated high-performance gate operations in registers of about ten qubits.However, scaling up and parallelizing quantum computations with long one-dimensional (1D) ion strings is an outstanding challenge due to the global nature of the motional modes of the ions, which mediate qubit-qubit couplings.Here, we devise methods to implement scalable and parallel entangling gates by using engineered localized phonon modes.We propose to tailor such localized modes by tuning the local potential of individual ions with programmable optical tweezers.Localized modes of small subsets of qubits form the basis to perform entangling gates on these subsets in parallel.We demonstrate the inherent scalability of this approach by presenting analytical and numerical results for long 1D ion chains and even for infinite chains of uniformly spaced ions.Furthermore, we show that combining our methods with optimal coherent control techniques allows realization of maximally dense universal parallelized quantum circuits.
We propose a quantum computer architecture based on ions confined in optical tweezer arrays, combining the long coherence times of trapped-ion qubits with the reconfigurability and parallel operation enabled by tweezer platforms. Selected ions are transported to local interaction zones, where excitation to an auxiliary state with a displaced optical potential generates a controllable effective electric dipole. We develop and analyze entangling-gate mechanisms mediated by the Coulomb interaction between such effective dipoles, and show that they enable precise, temperature-robust closure of the center-of-mass and relative motional trajectories, leaving no residual entanglement between the qubits and the motion. We further outline a concrete implementation with barium ions based on state-selective polarizability, and study the suppression of cross-talk during parallel gate execution, with relevance to transversal gates in quantum error correction. Our results thereby establish a realistic route toward scalable ion-tweezer quantum processors.
Optical tweezer arrays of neutral atoms have been demonstrated in recent years to be a useful platform for quantum simulation, computation, and metrology. Realizing the full potential of these applications requires increasing qubit numbers while simultaneously maintaining high-fidelity control, which has proved a major challenge across quantum platforms. To date, quantum science experiments have typically been operated with at most hundreds of qubits. In this thesis, we review the relevant physics of the optical tweezer array architecture and present the technical advances involved in scaling the platform to 6,100 atomic qubits. In tandem with scalability, we demonstrate robust vacuum design, state-of-the-art coherence times, and high single-qubit gate fidelities. To capitalize on the intrinsic connectivity of the architecture at large scale, we investigate long-distance coherent atom transport and briefly describe progress towards two-qubit gate implementation. Finally, we discuss the prospects for scaling the optical tweezer array platform further by an order of magnitude.
Scaling up controlled quantum systems to involve large numbers of qubits remains one of the outstanding challenges of quantum information science. One path toward scalability is the use of a modular architecture where adjacent qubits may be entangled with applied electromagnetic fields, and remote qubits may be entangled using photon interference. Trapped atomic ion qubits are one of the most promising platforms for scaling up quantum systems by combining long coherence times with high fidelity entangling operations between proximate and remote qubits. In this thesis, I present experimental progress on combining entanglement between remote atomic ions separated by 1 meter with near-eld entanglement between atomic ions in the same ion trap. I describe the experimental improvements to increase the remote entanglement rate by orders of magnitude to nearly 5 per second. This is the first experimental demonstration where the remote entanglement rate exceeds the decoherence rate of the entangled qubits. The flexibility of creating remote entanglement through photon interference is demonstrated by using the interference of distinguishable photons without sacrificing remote entanglement rate or fidelity. Next I describe the use of master clock in combination with a frequency comb to lock the phases of all laser-induced interactions between remote ion traps while removing optical phase stability requirements. The combination of both types of entanglement gates to create a small quantum network are described. Finally, I present ways to mitigate cross talk between photonic and memory qubits by using different trapped ion species. I show preliminary work on performing state detection of nuclear spin 0 ions by using entanglement between atomic ion spin and photon polarization. These control techniques may be important for building a large-scale modular quantum system.
Arrays of single atoms trapped in optical tweezers are increasingly recognized as a promising platform for scalable quantum computing. In both the fault-tolerant and NISQ eras, the ability to individually control qubits is essential for the efficient execution of quantum circuits. Time-division multiplexed control schemes based on atom shuttling or beam scanning have been employed to build programmable neutral atom quantum processors, but achieving high-rate, highly parallel gate operations remains a challenge. Here, we propose a fiber array architecture for atom quantum computing capable of fully independent control of individual atoms. The trapping and addressing lasers for each individual atom are emitted from the same optical waveguide, enabling robust control through common-mode suppression of beam pointing noise. Using a fiber array, we experimentally demonstrate the trapping and independent control of ten single atoms in two-dimensional optical tweezers, achieving individually addressed single-qubit gates with an average fidelity of 0.9966(3). More significantly, we perform simultaneous arbitrary single-qubit gates on four randomly selected qubits, resulting in an average fidelity of 0.9961(4). Our work paves the way for time-efficient execution of quantum algorithms on neutral atom quantum computers.