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arXiv:2608.18071

Ultrafast and high resolution spatial light modulation for cold atoms

Alexander Dennisovich Deters, Yanfei Li, Alexander Douglas, Markus Greiner, Aaron W. Young

physics.atom-phcond-mat.quant-gasquant-phSubmitted Aug 18, 2026• Announced Aug 19, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Programmable arrays of ultracold atoms are a leading platform for quantum computation and simulation, enabling state-of-the-art implementations of quantum error correction, and analog simulations of Hubbard models that address open problems in condensed matter physics. In these systems, all local control is mediated through precisely shaped optical fields, and so the challenge of managing many-body quantum states becomes an exercise in optical design. In particular, one wishes for fast, flexible control with low disorder and heating, and access to large arrays with many atoms. An ideal optical system therefore must generate arbitrary patterns with high spatial resolution and low disorder, and alter these patterns on a timescale that is faster than the relevant atomic dynamics. Here, we present an optical system that is comparable to previous approaches in scale, while advancing all other axes. We demonstrate arbitrary pattern generation with $10^{-3}$ intensity resolution, a frame rate of $>84$ MFPS (megaframes per second), and a spatial resolution of $83 \times 52$ beam waists (with $11 \times 52$ waists accessible via a single $40$ GHz electro-optic modulator). These capabilities unlock a new class of experiments. We develop and numerically validate a scheme for fully programmable Hubbard models, with time-dependent control over local chemical potentials, tunneling amplitudes, on-site interactions, and patterns of artificial magnetic flux. The same architecture performs fast, arbitrary permutations of tweezers in 2D, decoupling optical constraints from the design of high-rate error-correcting codes.

Comments
7+12 pages, 4+10 figures, 8 supplementary videos included as ancillary files

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Programmable arrays of ultracold atoms are a leading platform for quantum computation and simulation, enabling state-of-the-art implementations of quantum error correction, and analog simulations of Hubbard models that address open problems in condensed matter physics. In these systems, all local control is mediated through precisely shaped optical fields, and so the challenge of managing many-body quantum states becomes an exercise in optical design. In particular, one wishes for fast, flexible control with low disorder and heating, and access to large arrays with many atoms. An ideal optical system therefore must generate arbitrary patterns with high spatial resolution and low disorder, and alter these patterns on a timescale that is faster than the relevant atomic dynamics. Here, we present an optical system that is comparable to previous approaches in scale, while advancing all other axes. We demonstrate arbitrary pattern generation with 10−310^{-3}10−3 intensity resolution, a frame rate of >84>84>84 MFPS (megaframes per second), and a spatial resolution of 83×5283 \times 5283×52 beam waists (with 11×5211 \times 5211×52 waists accessible via a single 404040 GHz electro-optic modulator). These capabilities unlock a new class of experiments. We develop and numerically validate a scheme for fully programmable Hubbard models, with time-dependent control over local chemical potentials, tunneling amplitudes, on-site interactions, and patterns of artificial magnetic flux. The same architecture performs fast, arbitrary permutations of tweezers in 2D, decoupling optical constraints from the design of high-rate error-correcting codes.
Rapid and programmable shaping of light fields is central to modern microscopy, display technologies, optical communications and sensing, quantum engineering, and quantum information processing. Current wavefront shaping technologies face a fundamental dichotomy: liquid-crystal-on-silicon spatial light modulators (LCoS-SLMs) offer high pixel count but suffer from low refresh rates, while acousto-optic deflectors (AODs) provide moderate speed with restricted optical beam geometries. Though recent advances in photonic integrated circuits achieve fast switching, there is currently no tool that provides MHz-rate, continuous motion, and arbitrarily reconfigurable control over a set of diffraction-limited spots. Here we introduce a new class of spatial light modulator that provides both 2D pixel geometry and high speed. The device operates by encoding spatial information in frequency bins via a broadband optical phase modulator, and decoding them via a first-of-its-kind, high-resolution 2D spectrometer. The spectrometer, based on the architecture which we call the Re-Imaging Phased Array (RIPA), achieves its sensitivity through long path-lengths, enabled by intra-spectrometer re-imaging lens-guides. We demonstrate site-resolved optical pulsing with a 44(1)~ns rise time, corresponding to frame rates exceeding 10 million frames per second, as well as arbitrary, reconfigurable 2D addressing and multi-site operations, including asynchronous, independent beam motion, splitting, and recombination. Leveraging these tools opens new horizons in rapid optical manipulation of matter across science, from fast, scalable control that approaches the inertial and radiation limits of atoms in quantum processors, to dynamically programmable, microsecond-resolved illumination in microscopy and neuro-biological imaging.
Ultracold atoms in optical lattices can provide faithful analog realizations of the Hubbard model and many of its variants. Recently, these simulators have been augmented with improved programmable controls that enable new routes to state preparation, new kinds of dynamics, and, by extension, access to new observables. I will discuss two examples where such tools have enabled simulations that challenge classical numerical techniques: first, a sampling problem involving non-interacting bosons on a lattice that is closely related to boson sampling; and second, the preparation of low temperature equilibrium states of interacting spinful fermions on a lattice. These simulations have the potential to enhance our understanding of quantum many body physics, including practical problems of interest in material design relating to strongly correlated quantum materials. However, fully harnessing their capabilities in the regime where exact classical numerical simulations are absent requires new, precision probes of the relevant microscopic or thermodynamic quantities.
Ultracold atoms in optical lattices are a powerful platform for the study of quantum many-body physics. The combination of a high degree of isolation from the environment and external control over all relevant parameters makes these systems ideal candidates for the quantum simulation of fundamental lattice models. However, since the atoms are trapped in standing waves of interfering laser beams, the available trap geometries are constrained to regular lattices and single-site control is limited. In this thesis, an alternative experimental platform is investigated. Here, the combination of a microlens array and a spatial light modulator is used to provide a two-dimensional optical microtrap array for ultracold atoms. This setup allows for versatile trap geometries and comprehensive single-site control. The experimental feasibility of the described platform is investigated in the following way. First, the light field generating the microtrap array is simulated using a detailed model of the optical setup. The computed intensity distribution is proportional to the optical dipole potential for the atoms. Second, the simulation results are used to obtain the Hubbard parameters for multiple alkalies from numerical calculations as well as approximative analytical methods. It is shown that the strongly correlated regimes of the Bose-Hubbard model can be reached at sufficiently large tunneling rates. In addition, the impact of fluctuations in the trap parameters is investigated. Third, two approaches are considered for the preparation of low-entropy many-body states. On the one hand, a loading scheme is investigated which starts from a Bose-Einstein condensate and is used in optical lattice experiments. Here, the depth of the microtrap array is increased adiabatically. On the other hand, an array of isolated traps, which is initialized with one atom per site in the respective motional ground state, is considered as starting point. The itinerant regime of the Hubbard model is accessed by an adiabatic decrease of the trap depth. An analysis of ramp-induced excitations and external heating processes shows the feasibility of both approaches. Demonstrating the potential of the investigated platform, two applications are described. On the one hand, the tunneling dynamics of ultracold atoms between weakly coupled ring lattices is analyzed. Controlled by the interaction strength, multiple phenomena can be observed: Josephson oscillations exhibiting collapse and revival, inter-action-induced self-trapping, and tunneling resonances. On the other hand, the implementation of a scheme for universal quantum computing based on time-continuous quantum walks of interacting particles is proposed. Here, the information is encoded into the position of atomic wave packets moving through a planar graph which is built from optical microtraps and implements a quantum circuit. Details of an experimental implementation are discussed for both applications using the results derived in the preceding parts of this thesis.
Scalable classical controllers are a key component of future fault-tolerant quantum computers. Neutral atom quantum computers leverage commercially available optoelectronic devices for generating large-scale tweezer arrays and performing parallel readout, but implementing massively parallel, locally addressed gate operations is an open challenge. In this work, we demonstrate an optical modulator system based on off-the-shelf components, which can generate a two-dimensional array of over 10,000 focused spots with uniform frequency and amplitude, and switching them on and off individually in arbitrary configurations at rates of up to 43 kHz. Through careful control of aberrations, the modulator achieves an extinction ratio of 46 dB, and nearest-neighbor crosstalk of −44dB with a beam spacing of 4.6 waists. The underlying components can operate at wavelengths from the UV to the NIR, and sustain high laser intensities. This approach is suitable for local addressing of gates with low cross-talk error rates in any optically addressed qubit platform, including neutral atoms, trapped ions, or solid-state atomic defects.
This thesis details the design, construction and characterisation of an ultracold atoms system, developed in conjunction with a flexible optical trapping scheme which utilises a Liquid Crystal Spatial Light Modulator (LC SLM). The ultracold atoms system uses a hybrid trap formed of a quadrupole magnetic field and a focused far-detuned laser beam to form a Bose-Einstein Condensate of 2×10⁵ ⁸⁷Rb atoms. Cold atoms confined in several arbitrary optical trapping geometries are created by overlaying the LC SLM trap on to the hybrid trap, where a simple feedback process using the atomic distribution as a metric is shown to be capable of compensating for optical aberrations. Two novel methods for creating flexible optical traps with the LC SLM are also detailed, the first of which is a multi-wavelength technique which allows several wavelengths of light to be smoothly shaped and applied to the atoms. The second method uses a computationally-efficient minimisation algorithm to create light patterns which are constrained in both amplitude and phase, where the extra phase constraint was shown to be crucial for controlling propagation effects of the LC SLM trapping beam.
The ultra-cold atomic system is a clean and highly controllable quantum system, which can be used for quantum simulation of important physical problems in many fields such as condensed matter physics, high-energy physics, astrophysics, and chemical reactions. The constructions of optical lattices with different configurations are an important prerequisite for simulating diverse complex quantum systems, especially solid materials. In this work, we use weighted Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm to generate holograms. By using liquid crystal spatial light modulator and high-resolution imaging system, holograms (in momentum space) are transformed into images in real space for constructing various two-dimensional (2D) optical trap arrays, such as simple triangular, hexagonal, square lattice and more complex honeycomb lattice. We load 87Rb ultra-cold atoms into the 2D optical trap arrays with a minimal spacing of 3 μm in between. This method is versatile and flexible, which is helpful in expanding the application scope of quantum simulation with optical lattices.