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arXiv:2607.12988

A cryogenic neutral-atom platform with full optical access and 2-hour trap lifetime

Akhil Kumar, Lorenzo Festa, Avishay Grinberg, Eran Reches, Dimitrios Tsevas, Kevin P. Mours, Zhao Zhang, Robin Eberhard, Sebastian Blatt, Andrea Alberti, Johannes Zeiher, Immanuel Bloch, Max Melchner

physics.atom-phcond-mat.quant-gasquant-phSubmitted Jul 14, 2026• Announced Jul 15, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Neutral-atom quantum processors are rapidly scaling toward system sizes of more than ten thousand qubits, allowing for the realization of a new class of quantum computing algorithms and quantum simulation experiments. However, current neutral-atom platforms generally have to find a compromise between the optical accessibility and the storage time of atoms in optical potentials, limiting the available qubit numbers. Here we report on the operation of a novel, cryogenically enhanced, neutral-atom apparatus that overcomes these apparently conflicting requirements. We demonstrate vacuum-limited trapping lifetimes of up to two hours of single $^{88}\mathrm{Sr}$ atoms in an optical tweezer array while preserving full optical access and without the need for complex cryogenic enclosures. Our measurements show that exceptionally long single-atom lifetimes can be achieved with a relatively simple cryostat design. Our architecture can be straightforwardly ported to other atomic species and shows a viable path for scaling up to sorted arrays of tens of thousands of atoms.

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Preprint arXiv:2607.12988 submitted on 14 Jul 2026

A. Kumar, L. Festa, A. Grinberg +10 more

Neutral-atom quantum processors are rapidly scaling toward system sizes of more than ten thousand qubits, allowing for the realization of a new class of quantum computing algorithms and quantum simulation experiments. However, current neutral-atom platforms generally have to find a compromise between the optical accessibility and the storage time of atoms in optical potentials, limiting the available qubit numbers. Here we report on the operation of a novel, cryogenically enhanced, neutral-atom apparatus that overcomes these apparently conflicting requirements. We demonstrate vacuum-limited trapping lifetimes of up to two hours of single $^{88}\mathrm{Sr}$ atoms in an optical tweezer array while preserving full optical access and without the need for complex cryogenic enclosures. Our measurements show that exceptionally long single-atom lifetimes can be achieved with a relatively simple cryostat design. Our architecture can be straightforwardly ported to other atomic species and shows a viable path for scaling up to sorted arrays of tens of thousands of atoms.

•Jul 15, 2026•0 citations

Single Atoms with 6000-Second Trapping Lifetimes in Optical-Tweezer Arrays at Cryogenic Temperatures

Kai-Niklas Schymik, Sara Pancaldi, Florence Nogrette +4 more

We report on the trapping of single $\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms in tunable arrays of optical tweezers in a cryogenic environment at approximately 4 K. We describe the design and construction of the experimental apparatus, based on a custom-made UHV-compatible closed-cycle cryostat with optical access. We demonstrate the trapping of single atoms in cryogenic arrays of optical tweezers, with lifetimes up to 6000 s, despite the fact that the vacuum system has not been baked out. These results open the way to large arrays of single atoms with extended coherence, for applications in large-scale quantum simulation of many-body systems and, more generally, in quantum science and technology.

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We report on the trapping of single Rb atoms in tunable arrays of optical tweezers in a cryogenic environment at $\sim 4$ K. We describe the design and construction of the experimental apparatus, based on a custom-made, UHV compatible, closed-cycle cryostat with optical access. We demonstrate the trapping of single atoms in cryogenic arrays of optical tweezers, with lifetimes in excess of 300 s, despite the fact that the vacuum system has not been baked out. These results open the way to large arrays of single atoms with extended coherence, for applications in large-scale quantum simulation of many-body systems, and more generally in quantum science and technology.

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Scaling Neutral Atom Tweezer Arrays to 6,100 Qubits

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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.

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Hannah J. Manetsch, Gyohei Nomura, Elie Bataille +3 more

Optical tweezer arrays 1,2 have transformed atomic and molecular physics, now forming the backbone for a range of leading experiments in quantum computing 3–8 , simulation 1,9–12 , and metrology 13–15 . Typical experiments trap tens to hundreds of atomic qubits, and recently systems with around one thousand atoms were realized without defining qubits or demonstrating coherent control 16–18 . However, scaling to thousands of atomic qubits with long coherence times, low-loss, and high-fidelity imaging is an outstanding challenge and critical for progress in quantum science, particularly towards quantum error correction 19,20 . Here, we experimentally realize an array of optical tweezers trapping over 6,100 neutral atoms in around 12,000 sites, simultaneously surpassing state-of-the-art performance for several metrics that underpin the success of the platform. Specifically, while scaling to such a large number of atoms, we demonstrate a coherence time of 12.6(1) seconds, a record for hyperfine qubits in an optical tweezer array. We show room-temperature trapping lifetimes of ~ 23 minutes, enabling record-high imaging survival of 99.98952(1)% with an imaging fidelity of over 99.99%. We present a plan for zone-based quantum computing 5,21 and demonstrate necessary coherence-preserving qubit transport and pick-up/drop-off operations on large spatial scales, characterized through interleaved randomized benchmarking. Our results, along with recent developments 8,22–24 , indicate that universal quantum computing and quantum error correction with thousands to tens of thousands of physical qubits could be a near-term prospect.

arXiv:2403.12021•Nature•Sep 24, 2025•127 citations
Neutral-atom quantum processors are rapidly scaling toward system sizes of more than ten thousand qubits, allowing for the realization of a new class of quantum computing algorithms and quantum simulation experiments. However, current neutral-atom platforms generally have to find a compromise between the optical accessibility and the storage time of atoms in optical potentials, limiting the available qubit numbers. Here we report on the operation of a novel, cryogenically enhanced, neutral-atom apparatus that overcomes these apparently conflicting requirements. We demonstrate vacuum-limited trapping lifetimes of up to two hours of single 88Sr^{88}\mathrm{Sr}88Sr atoms in an optical tweezer array while preserving full optical access and without the need for complex cryogenic enclosures. Our measurements show that exceptionally long single-atom lifetimes can be achieved with a relatively simple cryostat design. Our architecture can be straightforwardly ported to other atomic species and shows a viable path for scaling up to sorted arrays of tens of thousands of atoms.
Neutral-atom quantum processors are rapidly scaling toward system sizes of more than ten thousand qubits, allowing for the realization of a new class of quantum computing algorithms and quantum simulation experiments. However, current neutral-atom platforms generally have to find a compromise between the optical accessibility and the storage time of atoms in optical potentials, limiting the available qubit numbers. Here we report on the operation of a novel, cryogenically enhanced, neutral-atom apparatus that overcomes these apparently conflicting requirements. We demonstrate vacuum-limited trapping lifetimes of up to two hours of single 88Sr^{88}\mathrm{Sr}88Sr atoms in an optical tweezer array while preserving full optical access and without the need for complex cryogenic enclosures. Our measurements show that exceptionally long single-atom lifetimes can be achieved with a relatively simple cryostat design. Our architecture can be straightforwardly ported to other atomic species and shows a viable path for scaling up to sorted arrays of tens of thousands of atoms.
We report on the trapping of single Rb\mathrm{Rb}Rb atoms in tunable arrays of optical tweezers in a cryogenic environment at approximately 4 K. We describe the design and construction of the experimental apparatus, based on a custom-made UHV-compatible closed-cycle cryostat with optical access. We demonstrate the trapping of single atoms in cryogenic arrays of optical tweezers, with lifetimes up to 6000 s, despite the fact that the vacuum system has not been baked out. These results open the way to large arrays of single atoms with extended coherence, for applications in large-scale quantum simulation of many-body systems and, more generally, in quantum science and technology.
We report on the trapping of single Rb atoms in tunable arrays of optical tweezers in a cryogenic environment at ∼4\sim 4∼4 K. We describe the design and construction of the experimental apparatus, based on a custom-made, UHV compatible, closed-cycle cryostat with optical access. We demonstrate the trapping of single atoms in cryogenic arrays of optical tweezers, with lifetimes in excess of 300 s, despite the fact that the vacuum system has not been baked out. These results open the way to large arrays of single atoms with extended coherence, for applications in large-scale quantum simulation of many-body systems, and more generally in quantum science and technology.
We report on a cryogenic platform at 4 K incorporating high numerical aperture optics for the generation of large-scale tweezers arrays, and compatible with Rydberg-state manipulation. We achieve trapping lifetimes of around 5000 s, significantly extending the available experimental time for the preparation of large-scale arrays. By combining two trapping lasers at different wavelengths and by minimizing other atom losses during the rearrangement and imaging processes, we demonstrate the preparation of defect-free arrays with up to 1024 atoms. Our cryogenic design opens exciting prospects for analog and digital quantum computing.
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.
Optical tweezer arrays 1,2 have transformed atomic and molecular physics, now forming the backbone for a range of leading experiments in quantum computing 3–8 , simulation 1,9–12 , and metrology 13–15 . Typical experiments trap tens to hundreds of atomic qubits, and recently systems with around one thousand atoms were realized without defining qubits or demonstrating coherent control 16–18 . However, scaling to thousands of atomic qubits with long coherence times, low-loss, and high-fidelity imaging is an outstanding challenge and critical for progress in quantum science, particularly towards quantum error correction 19,20 . Here, we experimentally realize an array of optical tweezers trapping over 6,100 neutral atoms in around 12,000 sites, simultaneously surpassing state-of-the-art performance for several metrics that underpin the success of the platform. Specifically, while scaling to such a large number of atoms, we demonstrate a coherence time of 12.6(1) seconds, a record for hyperfine qubits in an optical tweezer array. We show room-temperature trapping lifetimes of ~ 23 minutes, enabling record-high imaging survival of 99.98952(1)% with an imaging fidelity of over 99.99%. We present a plan for zone-based quantum computing 5,21 and demonstrate necessary coherence-preserving qubit transport and pick-up/drop-off operations on large spatial scales, characterized through interleaved randomized benchmarking. Our results, along with recent developments 8,22–24 , indicate that universal quantum computing and quantum error correction with thousands to tens of thousands of physical qubits could be a near-term prospect.