Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference
Experiments towards quantum information with trapped calcium ions
P. Leibfried, Christian F. Roos, H. J. Rohde, S. Gulde, A.B. Mundt, M. Lederbauer, Ferdinand Schmidt‐Kaler, Jürgen Eschner, R. Blatt
Abstract
Summary form only given. Ground state cooling and coherent manipulation of ions in a rf-(Paul) trap is the prerequisite for quantum information experiments with trapped ions. In our experiments a single /sup 40/Ca/sup +/ ion in a conventional Paul trap has been cooled to the ground state of vibration with 99.9% (98%) probability in the axial (radial) trap direction. We use a continuous resolved sideband method where we drive the S/sub 1/2/-D/sub 5/2/ quadrupole transition (@ 729nm) and repump the ion to the ground state via the D/sub 5/2/-P/sub 3/2/ dipole transition. Efficient cooling is achieved on the timescale of a few ms.