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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences

Quantum information processing with trapped Ca + ions

S. Gulde, Hartmut Häffner, Mark Riebe, Gavin P. T. Lancaster, Christoph Becher, Jürgen Eschner, Ferdinand Schmidt‐Kaler, Isaac L. Chuang, R. Blatt

Published Jul 15, 2003• 14 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum information processing is performed with single trapped Ca(+) ions, stored in a linear Paul trap and laser-cooled to the ground state of their harmonic quantum motion. Composite laser-pulse sequences were used to implement SWAP gate, phase gate and controlled-NOT gate operations. Stark shifts on the quantum-bit transitions were precisely measured and compensated. For a demonstration of quantum information processing, a Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm has been implemented using two quantum bits encoded on a single ion.

DOI
10.1098/rsta.2003.1206

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Ferdinand Schmidt‐Kaler, Christian F. Roos, H. J. Rohde +5 more

Single ions in Paul traps are investigated for quantum information processing. Superpositions of the S1/2 and the D5/2 states are used to implement a qubit. The ions are optically cooled and fluorescence light at 397 nm on the S1/2-P1/2 transition is monitored for a state measurement by the “electron shelving” technique. The S1/2-D5/2 quadrupole transition at 729 nm is excited for sideband cooling and for quantum state preparation and manipulation. Individual ions in a linear string are addressed by a tightly focused 729 nm laser beam. A single Ca+ ion has been cooled in the spherical Paul trap to the ground state of vibration with up to 99.9% probability. Cooling is achieved in all three dimensions simultaneously as well as ground state cooling of two ions. Starting from a Fock state |n=0> coherent quantum state manipulation on the S1/2-D5/2 transition is achieved. The data show that decoherence is negligible on the time scale of a few oscillations, i.e. during the time required for a quantum gate operation. The measured several decoherence time of a few ms is attributed to residual laser and magnetic field fluctuations. Heating of the motional degrees of freedom has been measured directly and appears at a rate of 1 phonon per 190 ms (70 ms) at the secular frequencies ωaxial (ωradial). A novel type of ground state laser cooling of a single trapped ion is achieved using a technique which tailors the absorption profile for the cooling laser by exploiting electromagnetically induced transparency in the Zeeman structure of the S1/2–P1/2 dipole transition. This new method is robust, easy to implement and proves particularly useful for cooling several motional degrees of freedom simultaneously, which is of great practical importance for the implementation of quantum logic schemes with trapped ions.

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Quantum Information Processing with Trapped 43Ca+ Ions

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We report on experiments with strings of laser-cooled Ca+ ions for quantum information processing. An experiment using the isotope 43Ca+ was set up from scratch. We devised techniques for loading and laser-cooling 43Ca+ ion strings, initializing the ions in the hyperfine clock states and reading out the quantum state with high efficiency. Coherence times of the qubits are about 1 s. The single-qubit gates were implemented using microwave and Raman excitation, and coupling to the motional state was demonstrated. Very recently, a pair of 43Ca+ ions were entangled for the first time. In a second line of experiments, we demonstrated simple quantum algorithms with few 40Ca+ ions as well as the implementation of a high-fidelity gate operation entangling a pair of ions with a fidelity of 99.3(1)%. Among the milestone experiments are the demonstration and quantum process tomography of a Cirac-Zoller gate with mean fidelity of about 93%, the demonstration of entanglement in a decoherence-free sub space lasting for 20s, the demonstration of deterministic quantum teleportation, a Toffoli gate, deterministic entanglement swapping a partial measurement of a GHZ state preserving entanglement in the remaining qubits, creation and analysis of an 8-ion W-state, the application of entangled ions for precision spectroscopy.

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Summary form only given. Single ions in Paul traps are investigated for quantum information processing. Superpositions of the S/sub 1/2/ and the D/sub 5/2/ states are used to implement a qubit. Single /sup 40/Ca/sup +/ ions are either held in a spherical Paul trap or alternatively, in a linear Paul trap. The ions are optically cooled and fluorescence light at 397 nm on the S/sub 1/2/-P/sub 1/2/ transition is monitored for a state measurement by the electron shelving technique. The S/sub 1/2/-D/sub 5/2/ quadrupole transition at 729 nm is excited for sideband cooling and for quantum state preparation. Individual ions in a linear string are addressed by a tightly focused 729 nm laser beam. In the spherical Paul trap (4.5 MHz trap frequency) a single Ca/sup +/ ion has been cooled to the ground state of vibration with a probability of up to 99.9%. Starting from this Fock state |n=0> coherent quantum state manipulation on the S/sub 1/2/-D/sub 5/2/ transition is achieved.

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The coherence of qubits based on single Ca ions

Ferdinand Schmidt‐Kaler, S. Gulde, Mark Riebe +7 more

Two-level ionic systems, where quantum information is encoded in long-lived states (quantum bits, qubits), are discussed extensively for quantum information processing. We present a collection of measurements which characterize the stability of a qubit based on the S 1/2 – D 5/2 transition of single 40 Ca + ions in a linear Paul trap. We find coherence times of ≃ 1 ms, discuss the main technical limitations and outline possible improvements.

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Marek Šašura, Vladimír Bužek

In this tutorial we review the physical implementation of quantum computing using a system of cold trapped ions. We discuss systematically all the aspects for making the implementation possible. Firstly, we go through the loading and confining of atomic ions in the linear Paul trap, then we describe the collective vibrational motion of trapped ions. Further, we discuss interactions of the ions with a laser beam. We treat the interactions in the travelling-wave and standing-wave configuration for dipole and quadrupole transitions. We review different types of laser cooling techniques associated with trapped ions. We address Doppler cooling, sideband cooling in and beyond the Lamb-Dicke limit, sympathetic cooling and laser cooling using electromagnetically induced transparency. After that we discuss the problem of state detection using the electron shelving method. Then quantum gates are described. We introduce single-qubit rotations, two-qubit controlled-NOT and multi-qubit controlled-NOT gates. We also comment on more advanced multiple-qubit logic gates. We describe how quantum logic networks may be used for the synthesis of arbitrary pure quantum states. Finally, we discuss the speed of quantum gates and we also give some numerical estimations for them. A discussion of dynamics on off-resonance transitions associated with a qualitative estimation of the weak-coupling regime is included in Appendix A and of the Lamb-Dicke regime in Appendix B.

arXiv:quant-ph/0112041•Journal of Modern Optics•Aug 1, 2002•98 citations
Quantum information processing is performed with single trapped Ca(+) ions, stored in a linear Paul trap and laser-cooled to the ground state of their harmonic quantum motion. Composite laser-pulse sequences were used to implement SWAP gate, phase gate and controlled-NOT gate operations. Stark shifts on the quantum-bit transitions were precisely measured and compensated. For a demonstration of quantum information processing, a Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm has been implemented using two quantum bits encoded on a single ion.
Single ions in Paul traps are investigated for quantum information processing. Superpositions of the S1/2 and the D5/2 states are used to implement a qubit. The ions are optically cooled and fluorescence light at 397 nm on the S1/2-P1/2 transition is monitored for a state measurement by the “electron shelving” technique. The S1/2-D5/2 quadrupole transition at 729 nm is excited for sideband cooling and for quantum state preparation and manipulation. Individual ions in a linear string are addressed by a tightly focused 729 nm laser beam. A single Ca+ ion has been cooled in the spherical Paul trap to the ground state of vibration with up to 99.9% probability. Cooling is achieved in all three dimensions simultaneously as well as ground state cooling of two ions. Starting from a Fock state |n=0> coherent quantum state manipulation on the S1/2-D5/2 transition is achieved. The data show that decoherence is negligible on the time scale of a few oscillations, i.e. during the time required for a quantum gate operation. The measured several decoherence time of a few ms is attributed to residual laser and magnetic field fluctuations. Heating of the motional degrees of freedom has been measured directly and appears at a rate of 1 phonon per 190 ms (70 ms) at the secular frequencies ωaxial (ωradial). A novel type of ground state laser cooling of a single trapped ion is achieved using a technique which tailors the absorption profile for the cooling laser by exploiting electromagnetically induced transparency in the Zeeman structure of the S1/2–P1/2 dipole transition. This new method is robust, easy to implement and proves particularly useful for cooling several motional degrees of freedom simultaneously, which is of great practical importance for the implementation of quantum logic schemes with trapped ions.
We report on experiments with strings of laser-cooled Ca+ ions for quantum information processing. An experiment using the isotope 43Ca+ was set up from scratch. We devised techniques for loading and laser-cooling 43Ca+ ion strings, initializing the ions in the hyperfine clock states and reading out the quantum state with high efficiency. Coherence times of the qubits are about 1 s. The single-qubit gates were implemented using microwave and Raman excitation, and coupling to the motional state was demonstrated. Very recently, a pair of 43Ca+ ions were entangled for the first time. In a second line of experiments, we demonstrated simple quantum algorithms with few 40Ca+ ions as well as the implementation of a high-fidelity gate operation entangling a pair of ions with a fidelity of 99.3(1)%. Among the milestone experiments are the demonstration and quantum process tomography of a Cirac-Zoller gate with mean fidelity of about 93%, the demonstration of entanglement in a decoherence-free sub space lasting for 20s, the demonstration of deterministic quantum teleportation, a Toffoli gate, deterministic entanglement swapping a partial measurement of a GHZ state preserving entanglement in the remaining qubits, creation and analysis of an 8-ion W-state, the application of entangled ions for precision spectroscopy.
Summary form only given. Single ions in Paul traps are investigated for quantum information processing. Superpositions of the S/sub 1/2/ and the D/sub 5/2/ states are used to implement a qubit. Single /sup 40/Ca/sup +/ ions are either held in a spherical Paul trap or alternatively, in a linear Paul trap. The ions are optically cooled and fluorescence light at 397 nm on the S/sub 1/2/-P/sub 1/2/ transition is monitored for a state measurement by the electron shelving technique. The S/sub 1/2/-D/sub 5/2/ quadrupole transition at 729 nm is excited for sideband cooling and for quantum state preparation. Individual ions in a linear string are addressed by a tightly focused 729 nm laser beam. In the spherical Paul trap (4.5 MHz trap frequency) a single Ca/sup +/ ion has been cooled to the ground state of vibration with a probability of up to 99.9%. Starting from this Fock state |n=0> coherent quantum state manipulation on the S/sub 1/2/-D/sub 5/2/ transition is achieved.
The use of cold trapped ions for quantum information processing requires the preparation of linear strings of ions at low temperatures and the coherent manipulation by laser light of the quantum state of individual ions in the string. In our experiment, 40Ca+ ions are trapped in a linear Paul trap, forming crystallized linear strings when laser cooled. These strings are observed by fluorescence detection on the S1/2-P1/2 dipole transition at 397 nm using a photomultiplier and a CCD camera. The narrow S1/2-D5/2 quadrupole transition at 729 nm is used to investigate and manipulate the vibrational motion of the ion in the trap. The spectral resolution obtained up to now on this transition is 2 · 10—12, proving long coherence time of the two-level system. Addressing of individual ions in the string is achieved, using a tightly focused laser beam at 729 nm, and detected by the observation of quantum jumps from the S1/2 to the D5/2 level. These experimental techniques make ions in a superposition of their S1/2 and D5/2 states suitable as qubits for quantum information processing. The realization of a two-ion quantum gate furthermore requires ground-state cooling of the string. The status of current experiments is reviewed and techniques to achieve ground-state cooling of ion strings are discussed.
In this tutorial we review the physical implementation of quantum computing using a system of cold trapped ions. We discuss systematically all the aspects for making the implementation possible. Firstly, we go through the loading and confining of atomic ions in the linear Paul trap, then we describe the collective vibrational motion of trapped ions. Further, we discuss interactions of the ions with a laser beam. We treat the interactions in the travelling-wave and standing-wave configuration for dipole and quadrupole transitions. We review different types of laser cooling techniques associated with trapped ions. We address Doppler cooling, sideband cooling in and beyond the Lamb-Dicke limit, sympathetic cooling and laser cooling using electromagnetically induced transparency. After that we discuss the problem of state detection using the electron shelving method. Then quantum gates are described. We introduce single-qubit rotations, two-qubit controlled-NOT and multi-qubit controlled-NOT gates. We also comment on more advanced multiple-qubit logic gates. We describe how quantum logic networks may be used for the synthesis of arbitrary pure quantum states. Finally, we discuss the speed of quantum gates and we also give some numerical estimations for them. A discussion of dynamics on off-resonance transitions associated with a qualitative estimation of the weak-coupling regime is included in Appendix A and of the Lamb-Dicke regime in Appendix B.