Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2610.01693

Predicting electric-field noise in ion traps using fluctuation electrodynamics

Markus Teller, Da An, Alberto M. Alonso, Philip C. Holz, Philipp Schindler, Hartmut Häffner, Tracy E. Northup

quant-phSubmitted Oct 1, 2026• Announced Oct 2, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Electric-field noise in microfabricated surface ion traps contributes to gate errors in trapped-ion quantum computers, but this noise has been challenging to predict. Here, we present a method to predict the electric-field noise arising from fluctuations in the bulk of dielectric and metallic materials. The method is valid for arbitrary trap geometries, and the only relevant material property is energy loss. We apply it to an ion trap with an electrically floating electrode and find the contribution from dielectrics to be dominant. Our model predicts the observed noise for this trap within a factor of four. In addition, we apply our model to typical surface trap designs and analyze how the electrode structures shield the noise.

Related papers

Microscopic model of electric-field-noise heating in ion traps

Arghavan Safavi-Naini, Peter Rabl, Philippe F. Weck +1 more

Motional heating of ions in microfabricated traps is one of the open challenges hindering experimental realizations of large-scale quantum processing devices. Recently, a series of measurements of the heating rates in surface-electrode ion traps characterized their frequency, distance, and temperature dependencies, but our understanding of the microscopic origin of this noise remains incomplete. In this work we develop a theoretical model for the electric field noise which is associated with a random distribution of adsorbed atoms on the trap electrode surface. By using first-principles calculations of the fluctuating dipole moments of the adsorbed atoms we evaluate the distance, frequency, and temperature dependence of the resulting electric field fluctuation spectrum. Our theory reproduces correctly the ${d}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ dependence with distance of the ion from the electrode surface and calculates the noise spectrum beyond the standard scenario of two-level fluctuators by incorporating all the relevant vibrational states. Our model predicts a regime of $1/f$ noise which commences at roughly the frequency of the fundamental phonon transition rate and a thermally activated noise spectrum which for higher temperatures exhibits a crossover as a function of frequency.

arXiv:1106.1949•Physical Review A•Aug 22, 2011•91 citations

Electric-field noise above a thin dielectric layer on metal electrodes

Muir Kumph, Carsten Henkel, Peter Rabl +2 more

The electric-field noise above a layered structure composed of a planar metal electrode covered by a thin dielectric is evaluated and it is found that the dielectric film considerably increases the noise level, in proportion to its thickness. Importantly, even a thin (mono) layer of a low-loss dielectric can enhance the noise level by several orders of magnitude compared to the noise above a bare metal. Close to this layered surface, the power spectral density of the electric field varies with the inverse fourth power of the distance to the surface, rather than with the inverse square, as it would above a bare metal surface. Furthermore, compared to a clean metal, where the noise spectrum does not vary with frequency (in the radio-wave and microwave bands), the dielectric layer can generate electric-field noise which scales in inverse proportion to the frequency. For various realistic scenarios, the noise levels predicted from this model are comparable to those observed in trapped-ion experiments. Thus, these findings are of particular importance for the understanding and mitigation of unwanted heating and decoherence in miniaturized ion traps.

arXiv:1511.00624•New Journal of Physics•Feb 2, 2016•45 citations

Finite geometry models of electric field noise from patch potentials in ion traps

Guang Hao Low, Peter F. Herskind, Isaac L. Chuang

We model electric field noise from fluctuating patch potentials on conducting surfaces by taking into account the finite geometry of the ion trap electrodes to gain insight into the origin of anomalous heating in ion traps. The scaling of anomalous heating rates with surface distance, $d$, is obtained for several generic geometries of relevance to current ion trap designs, ranging from planar to spheroidal electrodes. The influence of patch size is studied both by solving Laplace's equation in terms of the appropriate Green's function as well as through an eigenfunction expansion. Scaling with surface distance is found to be highly dependent on the choice of geometry and the relative scale between the spatial extent of the electrode, the ion-electrode distance, and the patch size. Our model generally supports the $d^{-4}$ dependence currently found by most experiments and models, but also predicts geometry-driven deviations from this trend.

arXiv:1109.2995•APS•Sep 14, 2011•2 citations

Finite-geometry models of electric field noise from patch potentials in ion traps

Guang Hao Low, Peter F. Herskind, Isaac L. Chuang

We model electric field noise from fluctuating patch potentials on conducting surfaces by taking into account the finite geometry of the ion trap electrodes to gain insight into the origin of anomalous heating in ion traps. The scaling of anomalous heating rates with surface distance $d$ is obtained for several generic geometries of relevance to current ion trap designs, ranging from planar to spheroidal electrodes. The influence of patch size is studied both by solving Laplace's equation in terms of the appropriate Green's function as well as through an eigenfunction expansion. Scaling with surface distance is found to be highly dependent on the choice of geometry and the relative scale between the spatial extent of the electrode, the ion-electrode distance, and the patch size. Our model generally supports the ${d}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ dependence currently found by most experiments and models, but also predicts geometry-driven deviations from this trend.

Physical Review A•Nov 22, 2011•37 citations

Electric-field noise in a high-temperature superconducting surface ion trap

Philip C. Holz, Kirill Lakhmanskiy, Dirk Rathje +3 more

Scaling up trapped-ion quantum computers requires new trap materials to be explored. Here we present experiments with a surface ion trap made from the high-temperature superconductor YBCO, a promising material for future trap designs. We show that voltage noise from superconducting electrode leads is negligible within the sensitivity ${S}_{V}=9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}20}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{V}}^{2}/\mathrm{Hz}$ of our setup, and for lead dimensions typical for advanced trap designs. Furthermore, we investigate the frequency and temperature dependence of electric-field noise above a YBCO surface. We find a $1/f$ spectral dependence of the noise and a nontrivial temperature dependence, with a plateau in the noise stretching over roughly $60\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. The onset of the plateau coincides with the superconducting transition, indicating a connection between the dominant noise and the YBCO trap material. We exclude the YBCO bulk as origin of the noise and suggest further experiments to decide between the two remaining options explaining the observed temperature dependence: noise screening within the superconducting phase, or surface noise activated by the YBCO bulk through some unknown mechanism.

arXiv:2106.03945•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Aug 27, 2021•5 citations

Noise sensing and quantum simulation with trapped atomic ions

Dylan J Gorman

In this work, we present a novel method to couple any two vibrational modes of a single trapped ion, allowing energy to be swapped between the two modes. We use the scheme to perform ground state cooling and heating rate measurements of vibrational modes without direct optical access. This lessens experimental design constraints in trapped ion experi- ments, particularly in surface trap apparatus where optical access can be difficult.We use a single ion as an electric-field noise sensor to study noise processes originating on the metallic surfaces of microfabricated ion traps. We show that realistic models of surface noise predict a specific polarization of the electric-field fluctuations relative to the trap geometry. In contrast, technical noise sources predict a different polarization direction and magnitude which can be inferred by electrostatic simulation of the trapping electrodes. We show that, by comparing heating rates of the two radial modes of a single trapped ion, one can determine whether technical noise sources are a significant contribution to heating. This is an important test for experiments aimed at studying surface noise effects. We also study dephasing due to surface noise, in which the electric potential curvature due to surface noise sources disturbs the phase of the ion motion. We measure the dephasing time for trapped ion motion. Using a noise model featuring dipolar noise sources, we probe the power spectrum of surface noise effects. These measurements, especially if repeated in a trap with smaller ion-electrode distances, may yield new insights as to the physical origin of surface noise effects.We demonstrate a two-ion quantum simulation of vibrationally-assisted energy transfer, an important phenomenon in biochemical energy transfer. We show that the quantum simulator performs well when benchmarked against exact numerical simulation. We believe that our approach can be scaled to more complicated systems beyond the reach of classical simulation, and discuss several methods for extending the simulation.

•Jan 1, 2017•0 citations
Electric-field noise in microfabricated surface ion traps contributes to gate errors in trapped-ion quantum computers, but this noise has been challenging to predict. Here, we present a method to predict the electric-field noise arising from fluctuations in the bulk of dielectric and metallic materials. The method is valid for arbitrary trap geometries, and the only relevant material property is energy loss. We apply it to an ion trap with an electrically floating electrode and find the contribution from dielectrics to be dominant. Our model predicts the observed noise for this trap within a factor of four. In addition, we apply our model to typical surface trap designs and analyze how the electrode structures shield the noise.
Motional heating of ions in microfabricated traps is one of the open challenges hindering experimental realizations of large-scale quantum processing devices. Recently, a series of measurements of the heating rates in surface-electrode ion traps characterized their frequency, distance, and temperature dependencies, but our understanding of the microscopic origin of this noise remains incomplete. In this work we develop a theoretical model for the electric field noise which is associated with a random distribution of adsorbed atoms on the trap electrode surface. By using first-principles calculations of the fluctuating dipole moments of the adsorbed atoms we evaluate the distance, frequency, and temperature dependence of the resulting electric field fluctuation spectrum. Our theory reproduces correctly the ${d}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ dependence with distance of the ion from the electrode surface and calculates the noise spectrum beyond the standard scenario of two-level fluctuators by incorporating all the relevant vibrational states. Our model predicts a regime of 1/f1/f1/f noise which commences at roughly the frequency of the fundamental phonon transition rate and a thermally activated noise spectrum which for higher temperatures exhibits a crossover as a function of frequency.
The electric-field noise above a layered structure composed of a planar metal electrode covered by a thin dielectric is evaluated and it is found that the dielectric film considerably increases the noise level, in proportion to its thickness. Importantly, even a thin (mono) layer of a low-loss dielectric can enhance the noise level by several orders of magnitude compared to the noise above a bare metal. Close to this layered surface, the power spectral density of the electric field varies with the inverse fourth power of the distance to the surface, rather than with the inverse square, as it would above a bare metal surface. Furthermore, compared to a clean metal, where the noise spectrum does not vary with frequency (in the radio-wave and microwave bands), the dielectric layer can generate electric-field noise which scales in inverse proportion to the frequency. For various realistic scenarios, the noise levels predicted from this model are comparable to those observed in trapped-ion experiments. Thus, these findings are of particular importance for the understanding and mitigation of unwanted heating and decoherence in miniaturized ion traps.
We model electric field noise from fluctuating patch potentials on conducting surfaces by taking into account the finite geometry of the ion trap electrodes to gain insight into the origin of anomalous heating in ion traps. The scaling of anomalous heating rates with surface distance, ddd, is obtained for several generic geometries of relevance to current ion trap designs, ranging from planar to spheroidal electrodes. The influence of patch size is studied both by solving Laplace's equation in terms of the appropriate Green's function as well as through an eigenfunction expansion. Scaling with surface distance is found to be highly dependent on the choice of geometry and the relative scale between the spatial extent of the electrode, the ion-electrode distance, and the patch size. Our model generally supports the d−4d^{-4}d−4 dependence currently found by most experiments and models, but also predicts geometry-driven deviations from this trend.
We model electric field noise from fluctuating patch potentials on conducting surfaces by taking into account the finite geometry of the ion trap electrodes to gain insight into the origin of anomalous heating in ion traps. The scaling of anomalous heating rates with surface distance ddd is obtained for several generic geometries of relevance to current ion trap designs, ranging from planar to spheroidal electrodes. The influence of patch size is studied both by solving Laplace's equation in terms of the appropriate Green's function as well as through an eigenfunction expansion. Scaling with surface distance is found to be highly dependent on the choice of geometry and the relative scale between the spatial extent of the electrode, the ion-electrode distance, and the patch size. Our model generally supports the ${d}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ dependence currently found by most experiments and models, but also predicts geometry-driven deviations from this trend.
Scaling up trapped-ion quantum computers requires new trap materials to be explored. Here we present experiments with a surface ion trap made from the high-temperature superconductor YBCO, a promising material for future trap designs. We show that voltage noise from superconducting electrode leads is negligible within the sensitivity ${S}_{V}=9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}20}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{V}}^{2}/\mathrm{Hz}$ of our setup, and for lead dimensions typical for advanced trap designs. Furthermore, we investigate the frequency and temperature dependence of electric-field noise above a YBCO surface. We find a 1/f1/f1/f spectral dependence of the noise and a nontrivial temperature dependence, with a plateau in the noise stretching over roughly 60K60\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}60K. The onset of the plateau coincides with the superconducting transition, indicating a connection between the dominant noise and the YBCO trap material. We exclude the YBCO bulk as origin of the noise and suggest further experiments to decide between the two remaining options explaining the observed temperature dependence: noise screening within the superconducting phase, or surface noise activated by the YBCO bulk through some unknown mechanism.
In this work, we present a novel method to couple any two vibrational modes of a single trapped ion, allowing energy to be swapped between the two modes. We use the scheme to perform ground state cooling and heating rate measurements of vibrational modes without direct optical access. This lessens experimental design constraints in trapped ion experi- ments, particularly in surface trap apparatus where optical access can be difficult.We use a single ion as an electric-field noise sensor to study noise processes originating on the metallic surfaces of microfabricated ion traps. We show that realistic models of surface noise predict a specific polarization of the electric-field fluctuations relative to the trap geometry. In contrast, technical noise sources predict a different polarization direction and magnitude which can be inferred by electrostatic simulation of the trapping electrodes. We show that, by comparing heating rates of the two radial modes of a single trapped ion, one can determine whether technical noise sources are a significant contribution to heating. This is an important test for experiments aimed at studying surface noise effects. We also study dephasing due to surface noise, in which the electric potential curvature due to surface noise sources disturbs the phase of the ion motion. We measure the dephasing time for trapped ion motion. Using a noise model featuring dipolar noise sources, we probe the power spectrum of surface noise effects. These measurements, especially if repeated in a trap with smaller ion-electrode distances, may yield new insights as to the physical origin of surface noise effects.We demonstrate a two-ion quantum simulation of vibrationally-assisted energy transfer, an important phenomenon in biochemical energy transfer. We show that the quantum simulator performs well when benchmarked against exact numerical simulation. We believe that our approach can be scaled to more complicated systems beyond the reach of classical simulation, and discuss several methods for extending the simulation.