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arXiv:2509.03473 · Quantum Science and Technology

Painted loading: a toolkit for loading spatially large optical tweezer arrays

Mitchell J Walker, Ryuji Moriya, Jack D Segal, Liam A. P. Gallagher, Matthew Hill, Frédéric Leroux, Zhongxiao Xu, M. P. A. Jones

Published Jan 7, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Arrays of neutral atoms in optical tweezers are widely used in quantum simulation and computation, and precision frequency metrology. The capabilities of these arrays are enhanced by maximising the number of available sites. Here we increase the spatial extent of a two-dimensional array of 88 Sr atoms by sweeping the frequency of the cooling light to move the atomic reservoir across the array. We load arrays with vertical heights of > 100 µm, exceeding the height of an array loaded from a static reservoir by a factor of > 3. We investigate the site-to-site atom number distribution, tweezer lifetime, and temperature, achieving an average temperature across the array of 1.49 ( 3 ) µK. By controlling the frequency sweep we show it is possible to control the distribution of atoms across the array, including uniform and non-uniformly loaded arrays, and arrays with selectively loaded regions. We explain our results using a rate equation model which is in qualitative agreement with the data.

DOI
10.1088/2058-9565/ae34e3

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Abstract Arrays of neutral atoms in optical tweezers are widely used in quantum simulation and computation, and precision frequency metrology. The capabilities of these arrays are enhanced by maximising the number of available sites. Here we increase the spatial extent of a two-dimensional array of 88 Sr atoms by sweeping the frequency of the cooling light to move the atomic reservoir across the array. We load arrays with vertical heights of > 100 µm, exceeding the height of an array loaded from a static reservoir by a factor of > 3. We investigate the site-to-site atom number distribution, tweezer lifetime, and temperature, achieving an average temperature across the array of 1.49 ( 3 ) µK. By controlling the frequency sweep we show it is possible to control the distribution of atoms across the array, including uniform and non-uniformly loaded arrays, and arrays with selectively loaded regions. We explain our results using a rate equation model which is in qualitative agreement with the data.
Neutral atoms and molecules trapped in optical tweezers have become a prevalent resource for quantum simulation, computation, and metrology. However, the maximum achievable system sizes of such arrays are often limited by the stochastic nature of loading into optical tweezers, with a typical loading probability of only 50%. Here we present a species-agnostic method for dark-state enhanced loading (DSEL) based on real-time feedback, long-lived shelving states, and iterated array reloading. We demonstrate this technique with a 95-tweezer array of ^{88}Sr atoms, achieving a maximum loading probability of 84.02(4)% and a maximum array size of 91 atoms in one dimension. Our protocol is complementary to, and compatible with, existing schemes for enhanced loading based on direct control over light-assisted collisions, and we predict it can enable close-to-unity filling for arrays of atoms or molecules.
We demonstrate rapid loading of a small array of optical tweezers with a single ^{87}Rb atom per site. We find that loading efficiencies of up to 90% per tweezer are achievable in less than 170 ms for traps separated by more than 1.7 μm. Interestingly, we find the load efficiency is affected by nearby traps and present the efficiency as a function of the spacing between two optical tweezers. This enhanced loading, combined with subsequent rearranging of filled sites, will enable the study of quantum many-body systems via quantum gas assembly.
Abstract We present programmable two-dimensional arrays of microscopic atomic ensembles consisting of more than 400 sites with nearly uniform filling and small atom number fluctuations. Our approach involves direct projection of light patterns from a digital micromirror device with high spatial resolution onto an optical pancake trap acting as a reservoir. This makes it possible to load large arrays of tweezers in a single step with high occupation numbers and low power requirements per tweezer. Each atomic ensemble is confined to ~1 μm3 with a controllable occupation from 20 to 200 atoms and with (sub)-Poissonian atom number fluctuations. Thus, they are ideally suited for quantum simulation and for realizing large arrays of collectively encoded Rydberg-atom qubits for quantum information processing.
We introduce a method for improved loading into a single-atom optical tweezer array, utilizing iterative loading with multiple reservoir tweezers. Demonstrated with dual-wavelength tweezer arrays of Sr 88 atoms, our approach achieves a 96 % loading rate after four reload cycles. This method can significantly enhance existing tweezer rearrangement protocols and reduce optical power consumption for target tweezer arrays, thereby enabling a larger number of atoms in a quantum logic device. Our approach has the potential for implementation with different atomic species and combination with other enhanced loading methods.
Neutral atoms for quantum computing applications show promise in terms of scalability and connectivity. We demonstrate the realization of a versatile apparatus capable of stochastically loading a 5x5 array of optical tweezers with single 88^{88}88Sr atoms featuring flexible magnetic field control and excellent optical access. A custom-designed oven, spin-flip Zeeman slower, and deflection stage produce a controlled flux of Sr directed to the science chamber. In the science chamber, featuring a vacuum pressure of 3×10−113 \times 10^{-11}3×10−11 mbar, the Sr is cooled using two laser cooling stages, resulting in ∼3×105\sim 3 \times 10^5∼3×105 atoms at a temperature of 5(1) μμμK. The optical tweezers feature a 1/e21/e^21/e2 waist of 0.81(2) μμμm, and loaded atoms can be imaged with a fidelity of ∼0.997\sim 0.997∼0.997 and a survival probability of 0.99−0.02+0.010.99^{+0.01}_{-0.02}0.99−0.02+0.01​. The atomic array presented here forms the core of a full-stack quantum computing processor targeted for quantum chemistry computational problems.
Assembling and maintaining large arrays of individually addressable atoms is a key requirement for continued scaling of neutral-atom-based quantum computers and simulators. In this work, we demonstrate a new paradigm for assembly of atomic arrays, based on a synergistic combination of optical tweezers and cavity-enhanced optical lattices, and the incremental filling of a target array from a repetitively filled reservoir. In this protocol, the tweezers provide microscopic rearrangement of atoms, while the cavity-enhanced lattices enable the creation of large numbers of optical traps with sufficient depth for rapid low-loss imaging of atoms. We apply this protocol to demonstrate near-deterministic filling (99% per-site occupancy) of 1225-site arrays of optical traps. Because the reservoir is repeatedly filled with fresh atoms, the array can be maintained in a filled state indefinitely. We anticipate that this protocol will be compatible with mid-circuit reloading of atoms into a quantum processor, which will be a key capability for running large-scale error-corrected quantum computations whose durations exceed the lifetime of a single atom in the system. Published by the American Physical Society 2024