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arXiv:2601.08495

Toolchain for shuttling trapped-ion qubits in segmented traps

Andreas Conta, Santiago Bogino, Frodo Köhncke, Ferdinand Schmidt-Kaler, Ulrich Poschinger

quant-phSubmitted Jan 13, 2026• Announced Jan 14, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Scalable trapped-ion quantum computing requires fast and reliable transport of ions through complex, segmented radiofrequency trap architectures without inducing excessive motional excitation. We present a numerical toolchain for the systematic generation of time-dependent electrode voltages enabling fast, low-excitation ion shuttling in segmented radiofrequency traps. Based on a model of the trap electrode geometry, the framework combines an electrostatic field solver, efficient unconstrained optimization, waveform postprocessing, and dynamical simulations of ion motion to compute voltage waveforms that realize prescribed transport trajectories while respecting experimental constraints such as voltage limits and bandwidth. The toolchain supports arbitrary trap geometries, including junctions and multi-zone layouts, and allows for the flexible incorporation of optimization objectives. We provide a detailed assessment of the accuracy of the framework by investigating its numerical stability and by comparing measured and predicted secular frequencies. The framework is optimized for numerical performance, enabling rapid numerical prototyping of trap architectures of increasing complexity. As application examples, we apply the framework to the transport of a potential well along a linear, uniformly segmented trap, and we compute a solution for shuttling a potential well around the corner of an X-type trap junction. The presented approach provides an extensible and highly efficient numerical foundation for designing and validating transport protocols in current and next-generation trapped-ion processors.

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Scalable trapped-ion quantum computing requires fast and reliable transport of ions through complex, segmented radiofrequency trap architectures without inducing excessive motional excitation. We present a numerical toolchain for the systematic generation of time-dependent electrode voltages enabling fast, low-excitation ion shuttling in segmented radiofrequency traps. Based on a model of the trap electrode geometry, the framework combines an electrostatic field solver, efficient unconstrained optimization, waveform postprocessing, and dynamical simulations of ion motion to compute voltage waveforms that realize prescribed transport trajectories while respecting experimental constraints, such as voltage limits and bandwidth. The toolchain supports arbitrary trap geometries, including junctions and multi-zone layouts, and allows for the flexible incorporation of optimization objectives. We provide a detailed assessment of the accuracy of the framework by investigating its numerical stability and by comparing measured and predicted secular frequencies. The framework is optimized for numerical performance, enabling rapid numerical prototyping of trap architectures of increasing complexity. As application examples, we apply the framework to the transport of a potential well along a linear, uniformly segmented trap, and we compute a solution for shuttling a potential well around the corner of an X-type trap junction. The presented approach provides an extensible and highly efficient numerical foundation for designing and validating transport protocols in current and next-generation trapped-ion processors.

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Quantum Information and Computation•Jul 1, 2008•29 citations
Scalable trapped-ion quantum computing requires fast and reliable transport of ions through complex, segmented radiofrequency trap architectures without inducing excessive motional excitation. We present a numerical toolchain for the systematic generation of time-dependent electrode voltages enabling fast, low-excitation ion shuttling in segmented radiofrequency traps. Based on a model of the trap electrode geometry, the framework combines an electrostatic field solver, efficient unconstrained optimization, waveform postprocessing, and dynamical simulations of ion motion to compute voltage waveforms that realize prescribed transport trajectories while respecting experimental constraints such as voltage limits and bandwidth. The toolchain supports arbitrary trap geometries, including junctions and multi-zone layouts, and allows for the flexible incorporation of optimization objectives. We provide a detailed assessment of the accuracy of the framework by investigating its numerical stability and by comparing measured and predicted secular frequencies. The framework is optimized for numerical performance, enabling rapid numerical prototyping of trap architectures of increasing complexity. As application examples, we apply the framework to the transport of a potential well along a linear, uniformly segmented trap, and we compute a solution for shuttling a potential well around the corner of an X-type trap junction. The presented approach provides an extensible and highly efficient numerical foundation for designing and validating transport protocols in current and next-generation trapped-ion processors.
Scalable trapped-ion quantum computing requires fast and reliable transport of ions through complex, segmented radiofrequency trap architectures without inducing excessive motional excitation. We present a numerical toolchain for the systematic generation of time-dependent electrode voltages enabling fast, low-excitation ion shuttling in segmented radiofrequency traps. Based on a model of the trap electrode geometry, the framework combines an electrostatic field solver, efficient unconstrained optimization, waveform postprocessing, and dynamical simulations of ion motion to compute voltage waveforms that realize prescribed transport trajectories while respecting experimental constraints, such as voltage limits and bandwidth. The toolchain supports arbitrary trap geometries, including junctions and multi-zone layouts, and allows for the flexible incorporation of optimization objectives. We provide a detailed assessment of the accuracy of the framework by investigating its numerical stability and by comparing measured and predicted secular frequencies. The framework is optimized for numerical performance, enabling rapid numerical prototyping of trap architectures of increasing complexity. As application examples, we apply the framework to the transport of a potential well along a linear, uniformly segmented trap, and we compute a solution for shuttling a potential well around the corner of an X-type trap junction. The presented approach provides an extensible and highly efficient numerical foundation for designing and validating transport protocols in current and next-generation trapped-ion processors.
Abstract Shuttling ions at high speed and with low motional excitation is essential for realizing fast and high-fidelity algorithms in many trapped-ion-based quantum computing architectures. Achieving such performance is challenging due to the sensitivity of an ion to electric fields and the unknown and imperfect environmental and control variables that create them. Here we implement a closed-loop optimization of the voltage waveforms that control the trajectory and axial frequency of an ion during transport in order to minimize the final motional excitation. The resulting waveforms realize fast round-trip transport of a trapped ion across multiple electrodes at speeds of 0.5 electrodes per microsecond (35 m·s −1 for a one-way transport of 210 μm in 6 μs) with a maximum of 0.36 ± 0.08 mean quanta gain. This sub-quanta gain is independent of the phase of the secular motion at the distal location, obviating the need for an electric field impulse or time delay to eliminate the coherent motion.
Moving trapped-ion qubits in a microstructured array of radiofrequency traps offers a route towards realizing scalable quantum processing nodes. Establishing such nodes, providing sufficient functionality to represent a building block for emerging quantum technologies, e.g. a quantum computer or quantum repeater, remains a formidable technological challenge. In this review, we present a holistic view on such an architecture, including the relevant components, their characterization and their impact on the overall system performance. We present a hardware architecture based on a uniform linear segmented multilayer trap, controlled by a custom-made fast multi-channel arbitrary waveform generator. The latter allows for conducting a set of different ion shuttling operations at sufficient speed and quality. We describe the relevant parameters and performance specifications for microstructured ion traps, waveform generators and additional circuitry, along with suitable measurement schemes to verify the system performance. Furthermore, a set of different basic shuttling operations for dynamic qubit register reconfiguration is described and characterized in detail.
Trapped atomic ions have become one of the most promising architectures for a quantum computer, and current effort is now devoted to the transport of trapped ions through complex segmented ion trap structures in order to scale up to much larger numbers of trapped ion qubits. This paper covers several important issues relevant to ion transport in any type of complex multidimensional rf (Paul) ion trap array. We develop a general theoretical framework for the application of time-dependent electric fields to shuttle laser-cooled ions along any desired trajectory, and describe a method for determining the effect of arbitrary shuttling schedules on the quantum state of trapped ion motion. In addition to the general case of linear shuttling over short distances, we introduce issues particular to the shuttling through multidimensional junctions, which are required for the arbitrary control of the positions of large arrays of trapped ions. This includes the transport of ions around a corner, through a cross or T junction, and the swapping of positions of multiple ions in a laser-cooled crystal. Where possible, we make connections to recent experimental results in a multidimensional T junction trap, where arbitrary 2-dimensional transport was realized.
Trapped ion quantum computing based on the quantum charge coupled device (QCCD) architecture uses functional zoning and ion transport to enable high fidelity computation and all to all qubit connectivity. As trapped ion quantum processing units (QPU) scale, 90° X-junction turns account for an increasing fraction of total transport time. Frequent junction crossings, therefore, make transport speed and final phonon excitation direct determinants of quantum algorithm execution efficiency. However, complex electric fields in X-junctions complicate waveform design, making it difficult to achieve high speed and low final phonon excitation simultaneously. Here, we develop a waveform design method for low-phonon-excitation high-speed X-junction(LHX-T) transport. It integrates low barrier pseudopotential channel design using multiple radio frequency (Multi-RF), multidimensional shortcut to adiabaticity dynamics, and constrained DC voltage optimization over the entire transport sequence. This framework connects waveform design, control, and computational validation, with smooth multichannel waveforms computed rapidly through a Karush-Kuhn-Tucker(KKT) linear system. The resulting waveform transports a single 171Yb+^{171}Yb^+171Yb+ ion through a 90° turn in 5μs5μs5μs at an average speed of 14.6 m/s. Over 50 consecutive round trips, the final equivalent coherent phonon number consistently stays below 0.001, with no noticeable accumulation over time. System level evaluations at the QCCD scale show that the median duration of a single execution cycle is reduced by about 30%30\%30% across various circuit types. The fraction of execution time spent on transport decreases from approximately 70%70\%70% to 55%55\%55%. This approach offers a means of designing fast ion transport waveforms with low phonon excitation for scalable QCCD based QPUs and provides a technical basis for efficient execution of quantum algorithms.
Trapped atomic ions have become one of the most promising architectures for a quantum computer, and current effort is now devoted to the transport of trapped ions through complex segmented ion trap structures in order to scale up to much larger numbers of trapped ion qubits. This paper covers several important issues relevant to ion transport in any type of complex multidimensional rf (Paul) ion trap array. We develop a general theoretical framework for the application of time-dependent electric fields to shuttle laser-cooled ions along any desired trajectory, and describe a method for determining the effect of arbitrary shuttling schedules on the quantum state of trapped ion motion. In addition to the general case of linear shuttling over short distances, we introduce issues particular to the shuttling through multidimensional junctions, which are required for the arbitrary control of the positions of large arrays of trapped ions. This includes the transport of ions around a corner, through a cross or T junction, and the swapping of positions of multiple ions in a laser-cooled crystal. Where possible, we make connections to recent experimental results in a multidimensional T junction trap, where arbitrary 2-dimensional transport was realized.